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MAEMION 



A TALE OF FLODDEN FIELD. 



BY 



/ 



SIR WALTER SCOTT. 



^» 



WITH NOTES BY 

D. H 




BOSTON, U.S.A.: 

PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY. 

1891. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by 

GINN & COMPANY, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



All Rights Reserved. 



n-zf¥¥Y 



Ttpographt by J, S. Gushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



CONTENTS. 



Map . 


. 


Facing 


title-page 




Life of Walter 


Scott 


. 


• 


vii 


Canto I. (with Introduction) . 


The Castle 




1 


IT. " 




The Convent 


. 


45 


III. " 




The Hostel, or 


. Inn 


83 


IV. " 




The Camp . 


. 


120 


V. " 




The Court 




. 159 


VI. " 




The Battle 


. 


. 223 


Index to Notes 


. 


. 




. 273 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



THE publishers have availed themselves, by per- 
mission, of Dr. William J. Rolfe's carefully 
restored text of Marmion. The notes are, in every 
case, the result of independent research; but the 
editor desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to 
Dr. Rolfe's excellent edition of the poem for valu- 
able suggestions. He is also under obligations to 
Mr. Thomas Davidson, of New York City, for much 
interesting information respecting Scottish words and 
customs. 

D. H. M. 



LIFE OF WALTER SCOTT. 

ABRroOED FROM HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

By Edwin Ginn. 

WALTER SCOTT, my father, was born in 1729, and 
educated to the profession of a Writer to the Signet.^ 
I was born, as I believe, on the 15th August, 1771. I 
showed every sign of health and strength until I was 
about eighteen months old. One night, I have been often 
told, I showed great reluctance to be caught and put to bed ; 
and after being chased about the room, was apprehended 
and consigned to my dormitory with some difficulty. It was 
the last time I was to show such personal agility. In the 
morning, I was discovered to be affected with the fever 
which often accompanies the cutting of large teeth. It held 
me three days. On the fourth, when they went to bathe me 
as usual, they discovered that I had lost the power of my 
right leg. My grandfather, an excellent anatomist as well 
as physician, the late worthy Alexander Wood, and many 
others of the most respectable of the faculty, were consulted. 
There appeared to be no dislocation or sprain ; blisters and 
other topical remedies were applied in vain. The advice of 
my grandfather. Dr. Rutherford, that I should be sent to 
reside in the country, to give the chance of natural exertion, 
excited by free air and liberty, was first resorted to ; and 
before I have the recollection of the slightest event, I was, 
agreeably to this friendly counsel, an inmate in the farm- 
house of Sandy-Knowe. 

1 An Edinburgh solicitor. 

(vii) 



viii AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

It is here at Sandy-Knowe, in the residence of my paternal 
grandfather, already mentioned, that I have the first con- 
sciousness of existence. 

My grandmother, in whose youth the old Border depreda- 
tions were matter of recent tradition, used to tell me many 
a tale of Watt of Harden, Wight Willie of Aikvvood, Jamie 
Telfer of the fair Dodhead, and other heroes — merrymen 
all of the persuasion and calling of Kobin Hood and Little 
John. Two or three old books which lay in the window-seat 
were explored for my amusement in the tedious winter-days. 
Automathes, and Eamsay's Tea-table Miscellany, were my 
favorites, although at a later period an odd volume of 
Josephus's Wars of the Jews divided my partiality. 

My kind and affectionate aunt. Miss Janet Scott, whose 
memory will ever be dear to me, used to read these works 
to me with admirable patience, until I could repeat long 
passages by heart. The ballad of Hardyknute I was early 
master of, to the great annoyance of almost our only visitor, 
the worthy clergyman of the parish. Dr. Duncan, who had 
not patience to have a sober chat interrupted by my shouting 
forth this ditty. Methinks I now see his tall, thin, emaciated 
figure, his legs cased in clasped gambadoes, and his face of 
a length that would have rivalled the Knight of La Mancha's, 
and hear him exclaiming, " One may as well speak in the 
mouth of a cannon as where that child is." 

I was in my fourth year when my father was advised that 
the Bath waters might be of some advantage to my lameness. 
My affectionate *aunt, although such a journey promised to 
a person of her retired habits anything but pleasure or amuse- 
ment, undertook as readily to accompany me to the wells of 
Bladud as if she had expected all the delight that ever the 
prospect of a watering-place held^ out to its most impatient 
visitants. My health was by this time a good deal confirmed 
by the country air and the influence of that imperceptible 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ix 

and unfatiguing exercise to which the good sense of my 
grandfather had subjected me ; for, when the day was fine, I 
was usually carried out and laid down beside the old shep- 
herd, among the crags or rocks round which he fed his 
sheep. The impatience of a child soon inclined me to struggle 
with my infirmity, and I began by degrees to stand, to walk, 
and to run. Although the limb affected was much shrunk 
and contracted, my general health, which was of more im- 
portance, was much strengthened by being frequently in the 
open air ; and, in a Avord, I, who in a city had probably been 
condemned to hopeless and helpless decrepitude, was now a 
healthy, high-spirited, and, my lameness apart, a sturdy 
child. 

During my residence at Bath I acquired the rudiments of 
reading, at a day-school kept by an old dame near our lodg- 
ings, and I had never a more reg\ilar teacher, although I 
think I did not attend her a quarter of a year. An occa- 
sional lesson from my aunt supplied the rest. Afterwards, 
when grown a big boy, I had a few lessons from Mr. Stalker 
of Edinburgh, and finally from the Kev. Mr. Cleeve. But 
I never acquired a just pronunciation, nor could I read with 
much propriety. 

The most delightful recollections of Bath are dated after 
the arrival of my uncle. Captain Eobert Scott, who intro- 
duced me to all the little amusements which suited my age, 
and, above all, to the theatre. The play was As Tou Like 
It; and the witchery of the whole scene is alive in my mind 
at this moment. I made, I believe, noise more than enough, 
and remember being so much scandalized at the quarrel 
between Orlando and his brother, in the first scene, that I 
screamed out, " A'n't they brothers ? " A few weeks' resi- 
dence at home convinced me, who had till then been an only 
child in the house of my grandfather, that a quarrel between 
brothers was a very natural event. 



X AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

After being a year at Bath, I returned first to Edinburgh, 
and afterwards for a season to Sandy -Kno we ; — and thus 
the time whiled away till about my eighth year, when it 
was thought sea-bathing might be of service to my lame- 
ness. 

For this purpose, still under my aunt's protection, I re- 
mained some weeks at Prestonpans, — a circumstance not 
worth mentioning, excepting to record my juvenile intimacy 
with an old military veteran, Dalgetty by name, who had 
pitched his tent in that little village, after all his cam- 
paigns, subsisting upon an ensign's half-pay, though called 
by courtesy a Captain. As this old gentleman, who had 
been in all the German wars, found very few to listen to his 
tales of military feats, he formed a sort of alliance with me, 
and I used invariably to attend him for the pleasure of 
hearing those communications. Sometimes our conversa- 
tion turned on the American war, which was then raging. 
It was about the time of Burgoyne's unfortunate expedition, 
to which my Captain and I augured different conclusions. 
Somebody had shown me a map of North America, and, 
struck with the rugged appearance of the country, and the 
quantity of lakes, I expressed some doubts on the subject of 
the General's arriving safely at the end of his journey, which 
were very indignantly refuted by the Captain. The news 
of the Saratoga disaster, while it gave me a little triumph, 
rather shook my intimacy with the veteran. 

Besides this veteran, I found another ally at Prestonpans 
in the person of George Constable, an old friend of my 
father's. He was the first person who told me about Fal- 
staff and Hotspur, and other characters in Shakespeare. 
What idea I annexed to them I know not, but I must have 
annexed some, for I remember-quite well being interested 
in the subject. Indeed, I rather suspect that children de- 
rive impulses of a powerful and important kind in hearing 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. xi 

things which they cannot entirely comprehend ; and, there- 
fore, that to write doivn to children's understanding is a 
mistake : set them on the scent, and let them puzzle it out. 

From Prestonpans I was transported back to my father's 
house in George's Square, which continued to be my most 
established place of residence, until my marriage in 1797. 
I felt the change, from being a single indulged brat to be- 
coming a member of a large family, very severely j for, 
under the gentle government of my kind grandmother, who 
was meekness itself, and of my aunt, who, though of an 
higher temper, was exceedingly attached to me, T had ac- 
quired a degree of license which could not be permitted in 
a large family. I had sense enough, however, to bend my 
temper to my new circumstances ; but, such was the agony 
which I internally experienced, that I have guarded against 
nothing more, in the education of my own family, than 
against their acquiring habits of self-willed caprice and 
domination. I found much consolation, during this period 
of mortification, in the partiality of my mother. She joined 
to a light and happy temper of mind a strong turn to study 
poetry and works of imagination. 

My lameness and my solitary habits had made me a toler- 
able reader, and my hours of leisure were usually spent in 
reading aloud to my mother Pope's translation of Homer, 
which, excepting a few traditionary ballads, and the songs 
in Allan Ramsay's Evergreen, was the first poetry which I 
perused. My mother had good natural taste and great feel- 
ing : she used to make me pause upon those passages which 
expressed generous and worthy sentiments, and, if she could 
not divert me from those which were descriptive of battle 
and tumult, she contrived at least to divide my attention 
between them. My own enthusiasm, however, was chiefly 
awakened by the wonderful and the terrible — the common 
taste of children, but in which I have remained a child even 



xii AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

unto this day. I got by heart, not as a task, but almost 
without intending it, the passages with which I was most 
pleased, and used to recite them aloud, both when alone and 
to others — more willingly, however, in my hours of solitude, 
for I had observed some auditors smile, and I dreaded ridi- 
cule at that time of life more than I have ever done since. 

In [1778] I was sent to the second class of the Grammar 
School, or High School of Edinburgh, then taught by Mr. 
Luke Fraser, a good Latin scholar and a very worthy man. 
Though I had received, with my brothers, in private, lessons 
of Latin from Mr. James French, now minister of the Kirk 
of Scotland, I was nevertheless rather behind the class in 
which I was placed both in years and in progress. This was 
a real disadvantage, and one to which a boy of lively temper 
and talents ought to be as little exposed as one who might 
be less expected to make up his lee-way, as it is called. The 
situation has the unfortunate effect of reconciling a boy of 
the former character (which in a posthumous work I may 
claim for my own) to holding a subordinate station among 
his class-fellows — to which he would otherwise affix dis- 
grace. There is also, from the constitution of the High 
School, a certain danger not sufficiently attended to. The 
boys take precedence in their places, as they are called, 
according to their merit, and it requires a long while, in 
general, before even a clever boy, if he falls behind the class, 
or is put into one for which he is not quite ready, can force 
his way to the situation which his abilities really entitle him 
to hold. But, in the meantime, he is necessarily led to be 
the associate and companion of those inferior spirits with 
whom he is placed ; for the system of precedence, though it 
does not limit the general intercourse among the boys, has 
nevertheless the effect of throwing them into clubs and 
coteries, according to the vicinity of the seats they hold. A 
boy of good talents, therefore, placed even for a time among 



AUTOBIOGKAPHY. xiii 

his inferiors, especially if they be also his elders, learns to 
participate in their pursuits and objects of ambition, which 
are usually very distinct from the acquisition of learning ; 
and it will be well if he does not also imitate them in that 
indifference which is contented with bustling over a lesson 
so as to avoid punishment, without affecting superiority or 
aiming at reward. It was probably owing to this circum- 
stance, that, although at a more advanced period of life I 
have enjoyed considerable facility in acquiring language, 
I did not make any great figure at the High School ; or, at 
least, any exertions which I made were desultory and little 
to be depended on. 

Our class contained some very excellent scholars. As for 
myself, I glanced like a meteor from one end of the class to 
the other, and commonly disgusted my kind master as much 
by negligence and frivolity as I occasionally pleased him by 
flashes of intellect and talent. Among my companions my 
good-nature and a flow of ready imagination rendered me 
very popular. Boys are uncommonly just in their feelings, 
and at least equally generous. My lameness, and the efforts 
which I made to supply that disadvantage, by making up 
in address what I wanted in activity, engaged the latter 
principle in my favor ; and in the winter play-hours, when 
hard exercise was impossible, my tales used to assemble an 
admiring audience round Lucky Brown's fireside, and happy 
was he that could sit next to the inexhaustible narrator. I 
was also, though often negligent of my own task, always 
ready to assist my friends ; and hence I had a little party of 
staunch partisans and adherents, stout of hand and heart, 
though somewhat dull of head, — the very tools for raising 
a hero to eminence. So, on the whole, I made a brighter 
figure in the yards than in the class. 

After having been three years under Mr. Fraser, our class 
was, in the usual routine of the school, turned over to Dr. 



XIV AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

Adam, the Eector. It was from this respectable man that 
I first learned the value of the knowledge I had hitherto con- 
sidered only as a burdensome task. It was the fashion to 
remain two years at his class, where we read Caesar and 
Livy and Sallust, in prose; Virgil, Horace, and Terence, 
in verse. I had by this time mastered, in some degree, the 
difficulties of the language, and began to be sensible of its 
beauties. This was really gathering grapes from thistles ; 
nor shall I soon forget the swelling of my little pride when 
the Eector pronounced, that though many of my school-fel- 
lows understood the Latin better, Gualterus Scott was behind 
few in following and enjoying the author's meaning. Thus 
encouraged, I distinguished myself by some attempts at 
poetical versions from Horace and Virgil. Dr. Adam used 
to invite his scholars to such essays, but never made them 
tasks. I gained some distinction upon these occasions, and 
the Eector in future took much notice of me; and his 
judicious mixture of censure and praise went far to counter- 
balance my habits of indolence and inattention. I saw I 
was expected to do well, and I was piqued in honor to 
vindicate my master's favorable opinion. I climbed, there- 
fore, to the first form ; and, though I never made a first-rate 
Latinist, my school-fellows, and what was of more conse- 
quence, I myself, considered that I had a character for 
learning to maintain. 

From Dr. Adam's class I should, according to the usual 
routine, have proceeded immediately to college. But, for- 
tunately, I was not yet to lose, by a total dismission from 
constraint, the acquaintance with the Latin which I had 
acquired. My health had become rather delicate from rapid 
growth, and my father was easily persuaded to allow me to 
spend half a year at Kelso witlTmy kind aunt. Miss Janet 
Scott, whose inmate I again became. It was hardly worth 
mentioning that I had frequently visited her during our 
short vacations. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. XV 

In the meanwhile my acquaintance with English litera- 
ture was gradually extending itself. In the intervals of 
my school hours I had always perused with avidity such 
books of history or poetry or voyages and travels as chance 
presented to me, — not forgetting the usual, or rather ten 
times the usual, quantity of fairy tales, eastern stories, 
romances, etc. These studies were totally unregulated and 
undirected. My tutor thought it almost a sin to open a 
profane play or poem ; and my mother, besides that she 
might be in some degree trammelled by the religious scruples 
which he suggested, had no longer the opportunity to hear 
me read poetry as formerly. I found, however, in her dress- 
ing-room (where I slept at one time) some odd volumes 
of Shakespeare; nor can I easily forget the rapture with 
which I sate up in my shirt reading them by the light of a 
fire in her apartment, until the bustle of the family rising 
from supper warned me it was time to creep back to my bed, 
where I was supposed to have been safely deposited since 
nine o'clock. Chance, however, threw in my way a poeti- 
cal preceptor. This was no other than the excellent and 
benevolent Dr. Blacklock, well-known at that time as a 
literary character. I know not how I attracted his atten- 
tion, and that of some of the young men who boarded in 
his family; but so it was that I became a frequent and 
favored guest. The kind old man opened to me the stores 
of his library, and through his recommendation I became 
intimate with Ossian and Spenser. I was delighted with 
both yet I think chiefly with the latter poet. The tawdry 
repetitions of the Ossianic phraseology disgusted me rather 
sooner than might have been expected from my age. But 
Spenser I could have read forever. Too young to trouble 
myself about the allegory, I considered all the knights and 
ladies and dragons and giants in their outward and exot- 
eric sense, and God only knows how delighted I was to 



XVI AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

find myself in such society. As I had always a wonderful 
facility in retaining in my memory whatever verses pleased 
me, the quantity of Spenser's stanzas which I could repeat 
was really marvellous. But this memory of mine was a 
very fickle ally, and has through my whole life acted 
merely upon its own capricious motion, and might have 
enabled me to adopt old Beattie of Meikledale's answer, 
when complimented by a certain reverend divine on the 
strength of the same faculty: "No, sir," answered the old 
Borderer, "I have no command of my memory. It only 
retains what hits my fancy ; and probably, sir, if you were 
to preach to me for two hours, I would not be able when 
you finished to remember a word you had been saying." 
My memory was precisely of the same kind: it seldom 
failed to preserve most tenaciously a favorite passage of 
poetry, a play-house ditty, or, above all, a Border-raid bal- 
lad; but names, dates, and the other technicalities of his- 
tory escaped me in a most melancholy degree. The philos- 
ophy of history, a much more important subject, was also 
a sealed book at this period of my life; but I gradually 
assembled much of what was striking and picturesque in 
historical narrative ; and when, in riper years, I attended 
more to the deduction of general principles, I was fur- 
nished with a powerful host of examples in illustration of 
them. I was, in short, like an ignorant gamester, who kept 
up a good hand until he knew how to play it. 

I left the High School, therefore, with a great quantity 
of general information, ill arranged, indeed, and collected 
without system ; yet deeply impressed upon my mind ; 
readily assorted by my power of connection and memory, 
and gilded, if I may be permitted to say so, by a vivid and 
active imagination. If m^-studies were not under any 
direction at Edinburgh, in the country, it may be well 
imagined, they were less so. A respectable subscription 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. xvii 

library, a circulating library of ancient standing, and some 
private book-shelves, were open to my random perusal, and 
I waded into the stream like a blind man into a ford, with- 
out the power of searching my way, unless by groping for 
it. My appetite for books was as ample and indiscrimi- 
nating as it was indefatigable, and I since have had too 
frequently reason to repent that few ever read so much, 
and to so little purpose. 

Among the valuable acquisitions I made about this time, 
was an acquaintance with Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. But, 
above all, I then first became acquainted with Bishop Percy's 
Reliques of Ancient Poetry. I remember well the spot where 
I read these volumes for the first time. It was beneath 
a hugh platanus-tree, in the ruins of what had been intended 
for an old-fashioned arbor in the garden I have mentioned. 
The summer-day sped onward so fast, that, notwithstanding 
the sharp appetite of thirteen, I forgot the hour of dinner, 
was sought for with anxiety, and was still found entranced 
in my intellectual banquet. To read and to remember was 
in this instance the same thing, and henceforth I over- 
whelmed my school-fellows, and all who would hearken to 
me, with tragical recitations from the ballads of Bishop 
Percy. The first time, too, I could scrape a few shillings 
together, which were not common occurrences with me, I 
bought unto myself a copy of these beloved volumes ; nor 
do I believe I ever read a book half so frequently, or with 
half the enthusiasm. About this period also I became ac- 
quainted with the works of Richardson, and those of Mac- 
kenzie, with Fielding, Smollet, and some others of our best 
novelists. 

To this period also I can trace distinctly the awaking of 
that delightful feeling for the beauties of natural objects 
which has never since deserted me. The neighborhood 
of Kelso, the most beautiful, if not the most romantic 



xviii AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

village in Scotland, is eminently calculated to awaken these 
ideas. 

From this time the love of natural beauty, more especially 
when combined with ancient ruins, or remains of our 
fathers' piety or splendor, became with me an insatiable 
passion, which, if circumstances had permitted, I would 
willingly have gratified by travelling over half the globe. 

If, however, it should ever fall to the lot of youth to pe- 
ruse these pages — let such a reader remember, that it is 
with the deepest regret that I recollect in my manhood the 
opportunities of learning which I neglected in my youth ; 
that through every part of my literary career I have felt 
pinched and hampered by my own ignorance ; and that I 
would at this moment give half the reputation I have had 
the good fortune to acquire, if by doing so I could rest the 
remaining part upon a sound foundation of learning and 
science. 



LIFE OF SCOTT. 



ABRIDGED MAINLY FROM LOCKHART AND HUTTON. 



AS Scott grew up, entered the classes of the college, 
and began his legal studies, first as apprentice to his 
father, and then in the law classes of the University, he 
became noticeable to all his friends for his gigantic memory 
and the rich stores of romantic material with which it was 
loaded. 

His reading was almost all in the direction of military 
exploit, or romance and mediaeval legend and the later bor- 
der songs of his own country. He learned Italian and read 
Ariosto. Later he learned Spanish and devoured Cervantes, 
whose ''novela»/' he said, "first inspired him with the 
ambition to excel in fiction '^ ; and all that he read and 
admired he remembered. 

It might be supposed that, with these romantic tastes, 
Scott could scarcely have made much of a lawyer, though 
the inference would, I believe, be quite mistaken. His 
father, however, reproached him with being better fitted for 
a pedler than a lawyer, — so persistently did he trudge over 
all the neighboring counties in search of the beauties of 
nature and the historic associations of battle, siege, or 
legend. 

In spite of all this love of excitement, Scott became a 
sound lawyer, and might have been a great one, had not 
his pride of character, the impatience of his genius, and the 
stir of his imagination rendered him indisposed to wait and 

(xix) 



XX LIFE OF SCOTT. 

slave in the precise manner which the prepossessions of 
solicitors appoint. 

He continued to practise at the bar — nominally at least — 
for fourteen years, but the life of literature and the life of 
the bar hardly ever suit, and in Scott's case they suited the 
less, that he felt himself likely to be a dictator in the one 
field, and only a postulant in the other. Literature was a 
far greater gainer by his choice than law could have been a 
loser. For his capacity for the law he shared with thousands 
of able men, his capacity for literature with few or none. 

Love and Marriage. 

One Sunday, about two years before his call to the bar, 
Scott offered his umbrella to a young lady of much beauty 
who was coming out of the Greyfriars Church during a 
shower ; the umbrella was graciously accepted ; and it was 
not an unprecedented consequence that Scott fell in love with 
the borrower, who turned out to be Margaret, daughter of 
Sir John and Lady Jane Stuart Belches, of Ivernay. For 
near six years after this, Scott indulged the hope of marry- 
ing this lady, and it does not seem doubtful that the lady 
herself was in part responsible for this impression. 

For some reason this strong attachment was broken off. 
It may have been on account of some disagreement between 
the young people themselves, but most likely from a differ- 
ence in the rank of the parties. It was his first and only deep 
passion, so far as ever can be known to us, and had a great 
influence on his after life, both in keeping him free from 
some of the most dangerous temptations in life during his 
youth, and in creating in him^an interior world of dreams and 
recollections, on which his imagination was continually fed. 

The pride which was always so notable a feature in Scott 
probably sustained him through the keen inward pain which 



LIFE OF SCOTT. xxi 

it is very certain from a great many of his own words that 
he must have suffered in this uprooting of his most passion- 
ate hopes. And it was in part probably the same pride 
which led him to form, within the year, a new tie — his 
engagement to Mademoiselle Charpentier, or Miss Carpenter, 
as she was usually called, — the daughter of a French 
royalist of Lyons who had died early in the revolution. 

She made on the whole a very good wife, only one to be 
protected by him from every care, and not one to share 
Scott's deeper anxieties or to participate in his dreams. 

Border Minstrelsy and Maturer Poems. 

Ever since his earliest college days Scott had been collect- 
ing, in those excursions of his into Liddesdale and elsewhere, 
materials for a book on The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border; 
and the publication of this work, in January, 1802, was his 
first great literary success. The whole edition of eight 
hundred copies was sold within the year, while the skill and 
care which Scott had devoted to the historical illustration 
of the ballads, and the force and spirit of his own new 
ballads, written in imitation of the old, gained him at once a 
very high literary name. And the name was well deserved. 

Scott's genius flowered late. It was not until he was 
already thirty-one years of age that he wrote the first canto 
of his first great romance in verse, The Lay of the Last 
Minstrel. Jeffrey says of the three poems : " The Lay, if 
I may venture to state the creed now established, is, I should 
say, generally considered as the most natural and original, 
Marmion as the most powerful and splendid. The Lady of 
the Lake as the most interesting, romantic, picturesque, and 
graceful of his great poems." 

It is in painting those moods and exploits, in relation to 
which Scott shares most completely the feelings of ordinary 



xxii LIFE OF SCOTT. 

men, but experiences them with far greater strength and 
purity than ordinary men, that he triumphs as a poet. 

His romance is like his native scenery, — bokl, bare, and 
rugged, with a swift, deep stream of strong, pure feeling 
running through it. There is plenty of color in his pictures, 
as there is on the Scotch hills when the heather is out. And 
so, too, there is plenty of intensity in his romantic situa- 
tions ; but it is the intensity of simple, natural, unsophisti- 
cated, hardy, and manly characters. 

Partnership with the Ballantyne Brothers. 

Before proceeding further with Scott's life, it may be well 
to mention briefly his commercial relations with the Ballan- 
tyne Brothers, which had such an important bearing on the 
rest of his life. 

About the year 1805, before he had any idea of the gains 
he might derive from his writings, and while his income from 
other sources was very limited, he formally, but secretly, 
entered into the printing business as a partner with his old 
schoolmate, James Ballantyne. 

Although Ballantyne kept his accounts in a loose way, he 
otherwise managed the business fairly well ; and it might 
have proved a good investment had not Scott soon after, in 
order to furnish Avork to the printing-office, engaged in the 
publishing and book-selling business with John Ballantyne. 

Great risks attend this business, requiring good financial 
ability, a large acquaintance with men, sound judgment, and 
close application; yet Scott selected a frivolous man of 
pleasure, with neither character nor capacit}^, as a partner, 
relying probably on his own judgment for managing the 
publishing-house. For such ar task he was wholly unfitted. 
Because he was fond of antiquarian and historical researches, 
he supposed the people were eager for such reading ; and 



LIFE OF SCOTT. XXlll 

because some of his friends desired to write unsalable books, 
lie could not refuse to publish them. It is not suflS.cient for 
a publisher to ascertain that the book offered is a good one, 
but he must know whether it is so well adapted to the times 
and the wants of the community as to command a reason- 
able sale. 

Besides the firm's making so many bad investments, John 
Ballantyne was squandering its money in dissipation, so that 
Scott was kept in constant fear of bankruptcy all through 
the years 1813 and 1814 ; and it was not until the publica- 
tion of Waverley, opening up the richest vein in his own 
genius and popularity, that these alarms were ended. 

So great was the success of this novel that the leading 
publishers were very eager to purchase a share in it and sub- 
sequent issues. Constable, of Edinburgh, secured the works, 
but on condition that he should buy also a large part of the 
worthless stock of John Ballantyne & Co. This sale enabled 
Scott to wind up that unfortunate enterprise fairly well, 
although the printing house of James Ballantyne & Co. still 
held some of their notes, and Constable, on whom he was 
depending for money to extend his estate, build his castle, 
and pay his other expenses, was seriously crippled by the 
purchase of all this unsalable stock. 

The "VVaverley jSTovels. 

In the summer of 1814, Scott took up again and completed 
— almost at a single heat — a fragment of a Jacobite story 
begun in 1805 and then laid aside. It was published anony- 
mously, and its astonishing success turned back again the 
scales of Scott's fortunes, already inclining ominously tow- 
ards a catastrophe. This story was Waverley. 

Scott's method of composition was always the same ; and, 
when writing an imaginative work, the rate of progress 



XXIV LIFE OF SCOTT. 

seems to have been pretty even, depending much more on 
the absence of disturbing engagements than on any mental 
irregularity. The morning was always his brightest time ; 
but morning or evening, in country or in town, well or ill, 
writing with his own pen or dictating to an amanuensis in 
the intervals of screaming-fits due to the torture of cramp in 
the stomach, Scott spun away at his imaginative web almost 
as evenly as a silkworm spins at its golden cocoon. 

In the fourteen most effective years of Scott's literary life, 
during which he wrote twenty-three novels besides shorter 
tales, the best stories appear to have been on the whole the 
most rapidly written, probably because they took the strong- 
est hold of the author's imagination. 

But though, to our larger experience, Scott's achievement, 
in respect of mere fertility, is by no means the miracle which 
it once seemed, I do not think one of his successors can com- 
pare with him for a moment in the ease and truth with 
which he painted, not merely the life of his own time and 
country — seldom indeed that of precisely his own time, — 
but that of days long past, and often too of scenes far dis- 
tant. The most powerful of all his stories. Old Mortality, 
was the story of a period more than a century and a quarter 
before he wrote ; and others — which, though inferior to 
this in force, are nevertheless, when compared with the so- 
called historical romances of any other English writer, what 
sunlight is to moonlight, if you can say as much for the 
latter as to admit even that comparison — go back to the 
period of the Tudors, that is, two centuries and a half. 
Quentin Durivard runs back farther still, far into the pre- 
vious century, while Ivanlioe and The Talisman carry us 
back more than five hundred years. 

The most striking feature of Bcott's romances is that, for 
the most part, they are pivoted on public rather than mere 



LIFE OF SCOTT. XXV 

private interests and passions. With but few exceptions — 
(T/ie Antiquary, St. Honcm^s Well, and Guy Mannering are 
the most important) — Scott's novels give us an imaginative 
vicAV, not of mere individuals, but of individuals as they are 
affected by the public strifes and social divisions of the age. 
No man can read Scott without being more of a public man. 

Scott ix Adversity. 

With the year 1825 came a financial crisis, and Constable 
began to tremble for his solvency. From the date of his 
baronetcy (1820), Sir Walter had launched out into a con- 
siderable increase of expenditure. He got plans on a rather 
large scale in 1821 for the extension of Abbotsford, which 
were all carried out. To meet his expenses in this and 
other ways he received Constable's notes for "four un- 
named works of fiction," of which he had not Avritten a 
line. 

Nor were the obligations he incurred on his own account, 
and that of his family, the only ones by which he was bur- 
dened. He was always incurring expenses, often heavy 
expenses, for other people. Such obligations, however, 
would have been nothing when compared with Sir Walter's 
means, had all his notes on Constable been duly honored, and 
had not the printing firm of Ballantyne and Co. been so 
deeply involved with Constable's house that it necessarily 
became insolvent when he stopped. Taken altogether, I 
believe that Sir Walter earned during his own lifetime at 
least £140,000 by his literary work alone, probably more ; 
while even on his land and building combined he did not 
apparently spend more than half that sum. 

Thus even his loss of the price of several novels by Con- 
stable's failure would not seriously have compromised Scott's 
position, but for his share in the printing-house, which fell 



XXvi LIFE OF SCOTT. 

with. Constable, and the obligations of which amounted to 
£117,000. 

As Scott had always forestalled his income, — spending 
the purchase-money of his poems and novels before they 
were written, — such a failure as this, at the age of fifty-five, 
when all the freshness of his youth was gone out of him, 
when he saw his son's prospects blighted as well as his own, 
and knew perfectly that James Ballantyne, unassisted by 
him, could never hope to pay any fraction of the debt worth 
mentioning, would have been paralyzing, had he not been a 
man of iron nerve, and of a pride and courage hardly ever 
equalled. Domestic calamity, too, was not far off. For two 
years he had been watching the failure of his wife's health 
with increasing anxiety, and, as calamities seldom come 
single, her illness took a most serious form at the very time 
when the blow fell, and she died within four months of the 
failure. Nay, Scott was himself unwell at the critical 
moment, and was taking sedatives which discomposed his 
brain. 

And this was Scott's preparation for his failure, and the 
bold resolve which followed it, — to work for his creditors 
as he had worked for himself, and to pay off, if possible, the 
whole £117,000 by his own literary exertions. 

His estate was conveyed to trustees for the benefit of his 
creditors till such time as he should pay off Ballantyne and 
Co.'s debt, which of course in his lifetime he never did. Yet 
between January, 1826, and January, 1828, he earned for 
his creditors very nearly £40,000. Woodstock sold for £8228, 
"a matchless sale," as Sir Walter remarked, "for less than 
three month's work." Had Sir Walter's health lasted, he 
world have redeemed his obligations on behalf of Ballantyne 
and Co. within eight or nine years at most from the time of 
his failure. But what is more remarkable still is that after 
his health failed he struggled on with little more than half 



LIPE OF SCOTT. XXvii 

a brain, but a whole will, to work while it was yet day, 
though the evening was dropping fast. 

Not only did he row much harder against the stream of 
fortune than he had ever rowed Avith it, but, what required 
still more resolution, he fought on against the growing con- 
viction that his imagination would not kindle, as it used to 
do, to its old heat. 

He struggled on even to the end, and did not consent to 
try the experiment of a voyage and visit to Italy till his 
immediate work was done. But the rest came too late. 
So intense and continuous had been his application to work 
that even his very robust constitution was so completely 
exhausted that it v/as no longer able to repair the ravages 
of disease. He spent several months abroad, visiting Malta, 
Naples, Eome, Venice, and other places of interest, without 
improvement. He intended to visit Goethe, but the death 
of the great author at this time changed his plans, increasing 
his desire for an immediate return home. He sank rapidly, 
becoming quite unconscious during the latter part of the 
homeward journey, until his eye caught the towers of Ab- 
botsford, when he sprang up with a cry of delight. Mr. Laid- 
law, a dear friend, was waiting for him, and he met him with 
a cry, " Ha ! Willie Laidlaw. O, man, how often I have 
thought of you ! " His dogs came round his chair, and 
began to fawn on him and lick his hands, while Sir Walter 
smiled or sobbed over them. ^The next morning he was 
wheeled about his garden, and on the following morning was 
out in this Vv'ay for a couple of hours ; within a day or two 
he fancied that he could write again, but on taking the pen 
into his hand his fingers could not clasp it, and he sank back 
with tears rolling down his cheek. Later, when Laidlaw 
said in his hearing that Sir Walter had had a little repose, 
he replied, " No, Willie ; no repose for Sir Walter but in 
the grave.'' A s the tears rushed from his eyes, his old pride 



XXviii LIFE OF SCOTT. 

revived. " Friends/' he said, " don't let me expose myself ; 
get me to bed, — that is the only place." A few days after- 
wards, awaking conscious and composed, he desired to see 
his son-in-law. "Lockhart," he said, "I may have bnt a 
minute to speak to you. My dear, be a good man, — be 
virtuous, — be religious, — be a good man. Nothing else 
will give you any comfort when you come to lie here." He 
paused, and Lockhart said, " Shall I send for Sophia and 
Anne ? " ^^ISTo," said he, "don't disturb them. Poor souls ! 
I know they were up all night. God bless you all ! " With 
this he sank into a very tranquil sleep, and, indeed, he 
scarcely afterwards gave any sign of consciousness. He 
died Sept. 21, 1832, sixty-one years and one month old. 

Well might Lord Chief Baron Shepherd apply to Scott 
Cicero's description of some contemporary of his own, who 
" had borne adversity wisely, who had not been broken by 
fortune, and who, amidst the buffets of fate, had maintained 
his dignity." There was in Sir Walter, I think, at least as 
much of the Stoic as the Christian. But Stoic or Christian, 
he was a hero of the old indomitable type. Even the last 
fragments of his imaginative power were all turned to ac- 
count by that unconquerable will, amidst the discourage- 
ment of friends, and the still more disheartening doubts of 
his own mind. Like the headland stemming a rough sea, 
he was gradually worn away, but never crushed. 

Sir Walter certainly left his "name unstained," unless 
the serious mistakes natural to a sanguine temperament 
such as his are to be counted as stains upon his name; and 
if they are, where among the sons of men would you find 
many unstained names as noble as his with such a stain 
upon it ? He was not only sensitively honorable in motive, 
but, when he found what eviirhis sanguine temper had 
worked, he used his gigantic powers to repair it, and, as a 
result of these almost superhuman efforts, within fifteen 



LIFE OF SCOTT. xxix 

years after Sir Walter's death, the debt was at last, through 
the value of the copyrights he had left behind him, finally 
extinguished, and the small estate of Abbotsford left cleared. 
Sir Walter's effort to found a new house was even less suc- 
cessful than the effort to endow it. 

The only direct descendant of Sir Walter Scott is now 
Mary Monica Hope-Scott, who was born on the 2d October, 
1852, the grandchild of Mrs. Lockhart, and the great-grand- 
child of the founder of Abbotsford. 



EXTRACTS FEOM LOCKHART'S LIFE OF SCOTT. 

" I AM drawing near to the close of my career ; I am fast 
shuffling off the stage. I have been perhaps the most volu- 
minous author of the day ; and it is a comfort to me to think 
that I have tried to unsettle no man's faith, to corrupt no 
man's principle." 

In the social relations of life, where men are most effect- 
ually tried, no spot can be detected in him. He was a 
patient, dutiful, reverent son; a generous, compassionate, 
tender husband ; an honest, careful, and most affectionate 
father. Never was a more virtuous or a happier fireside 
than his. The influence of his mighty genius shadowed it 
imperceptibly ; his calm good sense, and his angelic sweet- 
ness of heart and temper, regulated and softened a strict 
but paternal discipline. His children, as they grew up, 
understood by degrees the high privilege of their birth ; but 
the profoundest sense of his greatness never disturbed their 
confidence in his goodness. 

Perhaps the most touching evidence of the lasting ten- 
derness of his early domestic feelings was exhibited to his 
executors, when they opened his repositories in search of 



XXX LIFE OF SCOTT. 

his testament, tlie evening after his burial. On lifting up 
his deskj we found arranged in careful order a series of 
little objects, which had obviously been so placed there that 
his eye might rest on them every morning before he began 
his tasks. These were the old-fashioned boxes that had 
garnished his mother's toilet, when he, a sickly child, slept 
in her dressing-room ; the silver taper-stand which the 
young advocate had bought for her with his first five-guinea 
fee ; a row of small packets inscribed with her hand, and 
containing the hair of those of her offspring that had died 
before her ; his father's snuff-box and etui-case ; and more 
things of the like sort, recalling the " old familiar faces." 
The same feeling was apparent in all the arrangement of 
his private apartment. Pictures of his father and mother 
were the only ones in his dressing-room. The clumsy 
antique cabinets that stood there, things of a very different 
class from the beautiful and costly productions in the pub- 
lic rooms below, had all belonged to the furniture of 
George's Square. Even his father's rickety washing-stand, 
with all its cramped appurtenances, though exceedingly 
unlike what a man of his very scrupulous habits would 
have selected in these days, kept its ground. The whole 
place seemed fitted up like a little chapel of the Lares. 

Such a son and parent could hardly fail in any of the 
other social relations. No man was a firmer or more inde- 
fatigable friend. I knew not that he ever lost one ; and a 
few, with whom, during the energetic middle stage of life, 
from political differences or other accidental circumstances, 
he lived less familiarly, had all gathered round him, and 
renewed the full warmth of early affection in his later days. 
There was enough to dignify the connection in their eyes, 
but nothing to chill it on either^side. The imagination that 
so completely mastered him, when he chose to give her the 



LIEE OF SCOTT. XXxi 

rein, was kept under most determined control when any of 
the positive obligations of active life came into question. 
A high and pure sense of duty presided over whatever he 
had to do as a citizen and a magistrate ; and, as a landlord, 
he considered his estate as an extension of his hearth. 

But his moral, political, and religious character has suf- 
ficiently impressed itself upon the great body of his writ- 
ings. He is indeed one of the few great authors of modern 
Europe who stand acquitted of having written a line that 
ought to have embittered the bed of death. His works 
teach the practical lessons of morality and Christianity in 
the most captivating form — unobtrusively and unaffectedly. 

The race that grew up under the influence of that intel- 
lect can hardly be expected to appreciate fully their own 
obligations to it : and yet, if we consider what were the 
tendencies of the minds and works that, but for his, must 
have been unrivalled in the power and opportunity to mould 
young ideas, we may picture to ourselves in some measure 
the magnitude of the debt we owe to a perpetual succession, 
through thirty years, of publications unapproached in charm, 
and all instilling a high and healthy code ; a bracing, invig- 
orating spirit ; a contempt of mean passions, whether vin- 
dictive or voluptuous ; humane charity, as distinct from 
moral laxity as from unsympathizing austerity; sagacity 
too deep for cynicism, and tenderness never degenerating 
into sentimentality : animated throughout in thought, opin- 
ion, feeling, and style, by one and the same pure energetic 
principle — a pith and savor of manhood; appealing to 
whatever is good and loyal in our natures, and rebuking 
whatever is low and selfish. 

I have no doubt that, the more details of his personal 
history are revealed and studied, the more powerfully will 
that be found to inculcate the same great lessons with his 



XXxii LIFE OF SCOTT. 

works. Where else shall we be taught better how pros- 
perity may be extended by beneficence, and adversity con- 
fronted by exertion ? Where can we see the " follies of the 
wise " more strikingly rebuked, and a character more beau- 
tifully purified and exalted in the passage through affliction 
to death ? 



MARMIOK^ 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO FIRST. 

To WILLIAM STEWART ROSE, Esq. 2 

Ashestiel^ Ettrick Forest? 

November's sky is chill and drear, 
November's leaf is red and sear : ^ 
Late, gazing down the steepy linn ^ 

1 Marmion: the name of an imaginary English hero who was killed at 
the great battle of Flodden, 1513, in the war between Scotland and England. 

Scott represents Marmion — whose name he borrows from a noble Eng- 
lish family — as sent by Henry VIII. of England as an ambassador to James 
IV. of Scotland. He makes his journey shortly before hostilities begin ; his 
object being to learn — 

•• Why through all Scotland, near and far. 
Their king is mustering troops for war." 

(See Canto I., xx.) 

The true cause of the Scottish invasion of England, on which the poet 
has based his story of Marmion, must be sought in the natural ambition 

2 William Stewart Eose, Esq. : a Scottish poet, and a friend of Sir 
Walter Scott's; born 1775, died 1843. He translated the old Freifch 
romances of Amadis cle Gaul and Partenopex de Blois, to which Scott 
refers at the close of this Introduction (see p. 17) ; but his literary repu- 
tation now rests mainly on his excellent translation of the Orlando Furioso, 
by the Italian poet, Ariosto. 

3 Ashestiel : the name of Scott's residence on the bank of the Tweed 
(see map). He lived there in 1806, when he began Marmion, which he 
published two years later. In 1812, Scott removed to the beautiful estate 
at Abbotsford, some five or six miles down the river. Scott received a 
thousand guineas for Marmion before he had completed it ; and the sale of 
the poem, before his death, had reached a total of about fifty thousand 
copies. 4 Sear : withered. 

^ Linn: a shrubby ravine, a " narrow glen." 

(1) 



2 MAKMION. 

That hems our little garden in, 

Low in its dark and narrow glen, S 

You scarce the rivulet might ken,i 

of the two rival kingdoms, eacli of which was resolved to gain all the power 
and territory it could at the expense of the other. 

In the summer of 1513, Henry became involved in a war with France, 
England's old enemy. The French king, in retaliation for the humiliating 
defeat which he suffered, stirred up the Scots — long the allies of France 
— to cross the border, and, by attacking the English in Northumberland, 
compel, if possible, Henry to return to protect his northern shires from 
seizure and pillage. Henry, however, delegated the defence of his domin- 
ions to the Earl of Surrey, who marched with thirty thousand men to meet 
James at the head of about the same number. 

The Scottish king took his position on Floddeu Hill, a long, high ridge in 
Northumberland, formed by an easterly spur of the range of Cheviot Hills, 
which at that point constitutes the boundary between England and Scotland. 

Between Flodden height and Surrey's forces flowed the deep river of 
the Till, a tributary of the Tweed. The English general crossed the river 
by Twisel Bridge, near the point where the Till joins the Tweed, and at- 
tacked James (September 9th) . In the desperate battle which ensued James 
was defeated and slain, and his army suffered so terribly that " every 
noble house in Scotland left some of its name on the fatal field." 

Surrey, on the other hand, had lost so heavily that he could not follow 
up the victory and invade the Scottish kingdom. So great, however, was 
the dread of an attack at Edinburgh * that the inhabitants of that capital 
began at once to fortify the city with a new, strong wall, some remains of 
which still exist. But no attack was made; and tlie next year England and 
Scotland signed a treaty of peace. Not quite thirty years later, James V. 
died of grief and disappointment over the shameful defeat of his army in a 
battle with the English (1542) at Solway Moss. A week before his death, 
"'"*'" — \^ile prostrated by this blow, news was brought to him of the birth of a 
daughter destined to be crowned in her cradle, and to become the unfortu- 
nate Mary Queen of Scots. The king believed that there was nothing au- 
spicious in the birth of a princess at such a time ; and in speaking of the 
crown, he said, "It came wi' a lass," — alluding to Marjory Bruce, by 
whom the Stuart family had obtained the throne, — " and it'll gang wi' a 
lass." It did not quite do that, for Mary's son, James VI., succeeded her ; 
but in 1G03, on the death of Elizabeth of England, Scotland ceased to be an 
independent realm, and was joined^-to-the larger and richer English king- 
dom, to which James VI., under the title of James I. of Great Britain, was 
summoned to take the crown. i Ken: see or know. 

* See Professor Aytouu's fine poem, Edinburgh after Flodden, in Heroic Bal- 
lads (Ginn & Co.). 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 3 

So thick the tangled greenwood grew, 
So feeble trilled ^ the streamlet through ; 
Now, murmuring hoarse, and frequent seen 
Through bush and brier, no longer green, lo 

An angry brook, it sweeps the glade. 
Brawls over rock and wild cascade. 
And, foaming brown, with double speed, 
Hurries its waters to the Tweed.^ 

No longer autumn's glowing red 15 

Upon our Forest hills is shed ; 
No more, beneath the evening beam. 
Fair Tweed reflects their purple gleam. 
Away hath passed the heather-bell ^ 
That bloomed so rich on Needpath-fell ; ^ 20 

Sallow his brow, and russet bare 
Are now the sister-heights of Yair.^ 
The sheep, before the pinching heaven,^ 
To sheltered dale,^ and down,^ are driven, 
Where yet some faded herbage pines, 25 

And yet a watery sunbeam shines ; 
In meek despondency they eye 
The withered sward and wintry sky. 
And far beneath their summer hill 
Stray sadly by Glenkinnon's rill. 30 

1 Trilled : gave out a tremulous sound ; or the word may be used in 
the sense of trickled. 

2 Tweed : this Scottish river, flowing into the North Sea, forms part of 
the boundary between northeastern England and Scotland (see map). 

3 Heather-bell : the beautiful purple flower of the Scottish heather. 

4 Needpath-fell: a "fell" may be either a rocky height or bare high land. 

5 Yair : Yair and Needpath-fell are both near Ashestiel. 
G Heaven : weather. 5" Dale : a valley. 
s Down : a hill ; but here, rolling land ; sheep pasture. 



4 MARMION. 

The shepherd shifts his mantle's fold, 

And wraps him closer from the cold : 

His dogs no merry circles wheel, 

But shivering follow at his heel ; 

A cowering glance they often cast, 35 

As deeper moans the gathering blast. 

My imps,^ though hardy, bold, and wild, 
As best befits the mountain child. 
Feel the sad influence of the hour. 
And wail the daisy's vanished flower, 40 

Their summer gambols tell, and mourn. 
And anxious ask, — Will spring return. 
And birds and lambs again be gay. 
And blossoms clothe the hawthorn spray ? 

Yes, prattlers, yes. The daisy's flower 45 

Again shall paint your summer bower ; 
Again the hawthorn shall supply 
The garlands you delight to tie ; 
The lambs upon the lea ^ shall bound. 
The wild birds carol to the round ; ^ 50 

And while you frolic light as they. 
Too short shall seem the summer day. 

To mute and to material things 
New life revolving summer brings ; 
The genial call dead Nature hears, 55 

And in her glory reappears. 

1 Imps : an old word for children. 2 Lea : meadow. 
3 To the round : this phrase appears to be used in the musical sense of 
singing a " round," or of singing in succession. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 5 

But oh ! my country's wintry state 

What second spring shall renovate ? 

What powerful call shall bid arise 

The buried warlike and the wise, 60 

The mind that thought for Britain's weal,^ 

The hand that grasped the victor steel ? 

The vernal ^ sun new life bestows 

Even on the meanest flower that blows ; 

But vainly, vainly may he shine 65 

Where Glory weeps o'er Nelson's ^ shrine. 

And vainly pierce the solemn gloom 

That shrouds, O Pitt,* thy hallowed tomb ! 

Deep graved in every British heart, 
Oh, never let those names depart ! 70 

Say to your sons, — Lo, here his grave 
Who victor died on Gadite ^ wave ! 
To him, as to the burning levin,^ 
Short, bright, resistless course was given ; 
Where'er his country's foes were found, 75 

Was heard the fated thunder's sound, 

iWeal: welfare. 

2 Vernal : belonging to the spring. 

3 Nelson's shrine : Lord Nelson (1758-1805) is buried in St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral, London. Southey calls him " the greatest naval hero of our own and 
of all former times." 

4 Pitt : William Pitt (1759-1806) , second son of William Pitt, Earl of 
Chatham, was an eminent statesman and orator. He was, for many years, 
prime minister of England; and through his influence, and that of his 
party, England entered upon the long war with France which ended in 
the fall of Napoleon. 

5 Gadite wave : referring to Trafalgar Bay, off Cadiz (called Gades — 
hence "Gadite" — in classical times). In this bay Nelson received his 
death-wound, in gaining his great and decisive victory over the French 
tleet, in 1805. 6 Levin: lightning, thunderbolt. 



6 MAKMION. 

Till burst the bolt on yonder shore, 

Rolled, blazed, destroyed, — and was no more. 

Nor mourn ye less his perished worth 
Who bade ^ the conqueror ^ go forth, 80 

And launched that thunderbolt of war 
On Egypt,^ Hafnia,* Trafalgar ; 
Who, born to guide such high emprise,^ 
For Britain's weal was early wise ; ^ 
Alas ! to whom the Almighty gave, 85 

For Britain's sins, an early grave ! 
His worth who, in his mightiest hour, 
A bauble held the pride of power, 
Spurned at the sordid lust of pelf,^ 
And served his Albion ^ for herself ; 90 

Who, when the frantic crowd amain ^ 
Strained at subjection's bursting rein, 
O'er their wild mood full conquest gained. 
The pride, he would not crvish, restrained, 

1 Who bade : an allusion to Pitt as prime minister. 

2 The conqueror : Nelson. 

3 Egypt : referring to Nelson's destruction of the French fleet in Aboukir 
Bay, Egypt, in 1798. 

'* Hafnia : the Latin name of Copenhagen. The Danes resisted the man- 
ner in which England carried on the war with France; Nelson attacked 
the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, in 1801, and forced Denmark to take a 
different course. 

5 Emprise : enterprise, undertaking. 

6 Early wise r alluding to the fact that Pitt became a power in Parlia- 
ment before he was twenty-two. 

5" Pelf : money, riches. 

8 Albion: an old name for England^ some authorities have supposed it 
to refer to the white chalk cliffs of the southeast coast, but the word is now 
generally thought to he of uncertain meaning. 

9 Amain : with might, violently. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 7 

Showed their fierce zeal a worthier cause, 95 

And brought the freeman's arm to aid the freeman's 
laws. 

Hadst thou but lived, though stripped of power, 
A watchman on the lonely tower. 
Thy thrilling trump had roused the land, 
When fraud or danger were at hand ; 100 

By thee, as by the beacon-light,^ 
Our pilots had kept course aright ; 
As some proud column, though alone. 
Thy strength had propped the tottering throne. 
Now is the stately column broke, 105 

The beacon-light is quenched in smoke, 
The trumpet's silver sound ^ is still, 
The warder ^ silent on the hill ! 

Oh, think, how to his latest day. 
When Death, just hovering, claimed his prey, no 
With Palinure's * unaltered mood. 
Firm at his dangerous post he stood. 
Each call for needful rest repelled, 
With dying hand the rudder held. 
Till, in his fall, with fateful ^ sway,^ 1 1 5 

The steerage of the realm gave way ! 

1 Beacon-light : a signal light. 

2 Trumpet's silver sound : alluding to the eloquence of Pitt. 

3 Warder : a guard. 

4 Palinure : Virgil relates that a messenger from the gods endeavored 
to persuade Palinurus, the pilot of iEneas, to leave the helm, for needed 
rest. Palinurus refused, and was pushed headlong into the sea; but he did 
not let go the helm, and, in falling, carried it with him. 

^ Fateful : producing fatal results. 
6 Sway : turning aside, divergence. 



8 MARMION. 

Then, while on Britain's thousand plains 

One unpolluted church remains, 

Whose peaceful bells ne'er sent around 

The bloody tocsin's ^ maddening sound, 120 

But still, upon the hallowed day. 

Convoke the swains ^ to praise and pray ; 

While faith and civil peace are dear, 

Grace this cold marble with a tear. 

He who preserved them, Pitt, lies here. 125 

Nor yet suppress the generous sigh 
Because his rival slumbers nigh,^ 
Nor be thy requiescat * dumb 
Lest it be said o'er Fox's tomb ; ^ 
For talents mourn, untimely lost, 130 

When best employed and wanted most ; 
Mourn genius high, and lore ^ profound. 
And wit that loved to play, not wound ; 
And all the reasoning powers divine, 
To penetrate, resolve,*^ combine ; 135 

And feelings keen, and fancy's glow, 
They sleep with him who sleeps below : 
And, if thou mourn'st they could not save 
From error him who owns this grave. 
Be every harsher thought suppressed, 140 

1 Tocsin : an alarm bell. 2 Swains : rustics. 

3 His rival slumbers nigh : an allusion to Fox, whose grave is next 
to Pitt's. 

4 Requiescat : " requiescat in pace," may lie rest in peace. 

5 Pox's tomb : Charles James Fox>fl749-1806) , was an eminent states- 
man and orator. He opposed the war waged against France by Pitt, and 
died while engaged in negotiating a peace with that country. 

c Lore : learning. ' Resolve : analyze. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 9 

And sacred be the last long rest. 

Ilere^ where the end of earthly things 

Lays heroes, patriots, bards,^ and kings ; 

Where stiff the hand, and still the tongue. 

Of those who fought, and spoke, and sung ; 145 

Here., where the fretted^ aisles * prolong 

The distant notes of holy song. 

As if some angel spoke again, 

' All peace on earth, good-will to men ; ' 

If ever from an English heart, 150 

Oh, here let prejudice depart. 

And, partial feeling cast aside, 

Record that Fox a Briton died ! 

When Europe crouched to France's yoke,^ 

And Austria bent, and Prussia broke, 155 

And the firm Russian's purpose brave 

Was bartered by a timorous slave. 

Even then dishonor's peace he spurned. 

The sullied olive-branch ^ returned. 

Stood for his country's glory fast, 160 

And nailed her colors to the mast ! '' 

1 Here : referring to the graves in Westminster Abbey. 

2 Bards : poets. 

3 Fretted : ornamental, especially interlaced or perforated ornamental 
work in architecture. 

4 Aisles : the north and south side-divisions of Westminster Abbey (and 
of churches similarly built) , separated from the central portion by lofty col- 
umns. Originally these aisles were used as passage-ways for processions 
in religious services. 

5 France's yoke : at the height of his power, Napoleon persuaded or 
compelled Austria, Prussia, Russia, and other European powers, to aid 
him in his hostile policy toward England. 

6 Olive-branch : the emblem of peace. 

J" Nailed her colors : Nelson, on one or more occasions, nailed his battle- 
flag to the mast, determined to sink rather than haul down his colors and 



10 MARMION. 

Heaven, to reward his firmness, gave 

A portion in this honored grave, 

And ne'er held marble in its trust 

Of two such wondrous men the dust. 165 

With more than mortal powers endowed, 
How high they soared above the crowd ! 
Theirs was no common party race,^ 
Jostling by dark intrigue for place ; 
Like fabled Gods, their mighty war 170 

Shook realms and nations in its jar ; 
Beneath each banner proud to stand, 
Looked up the noblest of the land, 
Till through the British world were known 
The names of Pitt and Fox alone. 175 

Spells 2 of such force no wizard grave 
E'er framed in dark Thessalian cave,^ 
Though his could drain the ocean dry, 
And force the planets from the sky. 
These spells are spent, and, spent with these, 180 
The wine of life is on the lees,* 
Genius and taste and talent gone. 
Forever tombed beneath the stone, 
Where — taming thought to human pride ! — 
The mighty chiefs sleep side by side. 185 

Drop upon Fox's grave the tear, 

surrender. Fox is here compared to him in his firm refusal of all offers of 
a dishonorable peace with France. 

1 Party race : political rivalry.. 

2 Spells : magical verses, charms?^— ^ 

3 Thessalian cave : the witches and wizards of Thessaly were espe- 
cially noted in classical times. 

4 Lees : dregs. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 11 

'Twill trickle to his rival's bier ; ^ 

O'er Pitt's the mournful requiem ^ sound, 

And Fox's shall the notes rebound. 

The solemn echo seems to cry, — 190 

'• Here let their discord with them die. 

Speak not for those a separate doom 

Whom Fate made brothers in the tomb ; 

But search the land, of living men, 

Where wilt thou find their like again ? ' 195 

Rest, ardent spirits, till the cries 
Of dying Nature bid you rise ! 
Not even your Britain's groans can pierce 
The leaden silence of your hearse ; ^ 
Then, oh, how impotent and vain 200 

This grateful tributary strain ! 
Though not unmarked from northern clime. 
Ye heard the Border Minstrel's * rhyme : 
His Gothic ^ harp has o'er you rung ; 
The Bard you deigned to praise, your deathless 
names has sung. 205 

Stay yet, illusion, stay awhile, 
My wildered ^ fancy still beguile ! 
From this high theme how can I part, 
Ere half unloaded is my heart ! 

1 Bier: here used for tomb (see line 68, p. 5). 

2 Requiem : solemn music for the dead. 

3 Hearse : here used for coffin — leaden coffins were formerly common. 

^ Border Minstrel : Scott calls himself the border minstrel, because he 
lived on the border between Scotland and England. 
5 Gothic : meaning here not classical. 
c Wildered : bewildered. 



12 MARMION. 

For all the tears e'er ^ sorrow drew, 210 

And all the raptures fancy knew, 

And all the keener rush of blood 

That throbs through bard in bardlike mood, 

Were here a tribute mean and low, 

Though all their mingled streams could flow — 215 

Woe, wonder, and sensation high. 

In one spring-tide ^ of ecstasy ! ^ — 

It will not be — it may not last — 

The vision of enchantment's past : 

Like frostwork in the morning ray, 220 

The fancy fabric melts away ; 

Each Gothic ^ arch, memorial-stone. 

And long, dim, lofty aisle, are gone ; 

And, lingering last, deception dear. 

The choir's high sounds die on my ear. 225 

Now slow return the lonely down. 

The silent pastures bleak and brown. 

The farm begirt with copsewood ^ wild. 

The gambols of each frolic child. 

Mixing their shrill cries with the tone 230 

Of Tweed's dark waters rushing on. 

Prompt on unequal tasks to run, 
Thus Nature disciplines her son : 
Meeter,^ she says, for me to stray. 
And waste the solitary day 235 

1 E'er : ever. 2 Spring-tide : the highest tide. 

3 Ecstasy : any overpowering emotion. 

^ Gothic : here used of the Gothicljrpointed architecture of the Middle 
Ages, of which Westminster Abbey is an example. 
s Copsewood : bushes and trees of low growth. 
GMeeter: fitter. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 13 

In plucking from yon fen ^ the reed, 

And watch it floating down the Tweed, 

Or idly list ^ the shrilling lay ^ 

With which the milkmaid cheers her way, 

Marking its cadence * rise and fail, 240 

As from the field, beneath her pail, 

She trips it down the uneven dale ; 

Meeter for me, by yonder cairn,^ 

The ancient shepherd's tale to learn. 

Though oft he stop in rustic fear, 245 

Lest his old legends tire the ear 

Of one who, in his simple mind. 

May boast of book-learned taste refined. 

But thou, my friend, canst quickly tell — 
For few have read romance so well — 250 

How still the legendary lay 
O'er poet's bosom holds its sway : 
How on the ancient minstrel strain 
Time lays his palsied hand in vain ; 
And how our hearts at doughty ^ deeds, 255 

By warriors wrought in steely weeds,^ 
Still throb for fear and pity's sake ; 
As when the Champion of the Lake ^ 

1 Fen : a marsh or bog. 

2 List : listen to. 3 Lay : a song. 

4 Cadence : musical measure or rhythm. 

5 Cairn : a heap of stones serving as a monument. 

6 Doughty : brave. 

' "Weeds : clothing, but here used in the sense of armor. 

8 Champion of the Lake : Sir Launcelot of the Lake was one of the most 
renowned of King Arthur's circle of knights, — the " Knights of the Round 
Table." The romance of King Arthur — a real or legendary king of Britain 
in the sixth century— forms the subject of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. 



14 MARMION. 

Enters Morgana's fated house, 

Or in the Chapel Perilous, 260 

Despising spells and demons' force. 

Holds converse with the unburied corse ; 

Or when, Dame Ganore's ^ grace to move — 

Alas, that lawless was their love ! — 

He sought proud Tarquin in his den, 265 

And freed full sixty knights ; or when, 

A sinful man and unconfessed,^ 

He took the Sangreal's ^ holy quest, 

And slumbering saw the vision high 

He might not view with waking eye. 270 

The mightiest chiefs of British song 
Scorned not such legends to prolong. 
They gleam through Spenser's elfin * dream. 
And mix in Milton's heavenly theme ; 
And Dry den, in immortal strain, 275 

Had raised the Table Round again. 
But that a ribald ^ king and court 
Bade him toil on, to make them sport ; 
Demanded for their niggard ^ pay. 
Fit for their souls, a looser '' lay, 280 

Licentious satire, song, and play ; 

1 Dame Ganore : Guinevere, Arthur's queen. 

2 Unconfessed : here, in the sense of not having received divine forgive- 
ness from the Church. 

3 Sangreal : the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper. The 
search, or quest, for the Sangreal was undertaken by the Knights of the 
Round Table, though only the pure^nJieart and life could hope to find it. 
See Tennyson's Sir Galahad, Holy Grail, and Lowell's Sir Launfal. 

* Elfin: fairy; the reference is to Spenser's Faery Queene. 
5 Ribald: low, vulgar. 6 Niggard: stingy, mean. 

5" Looser : laxer in morals. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 15 

The world defrauded of the high design, 
Profaned the God-given strength, and marred the 
lofty line. 

Warmed by such names, well may we then, 
Though dwindled sons of little men, 285 

Essay to break a feeble lance ^ 
In the fair fields of old romance ; 
Or seek the moated 2 castle's cell, 
Where long through talisman ^ and spell. 
While tyrants ruled and damsels wept, 290 

Thy Genius, Chivalry ^ hath slept. 
There sound the harpings of the North, 
Till he awake and sally forth, 
On venturous quest to prick ^ again, 
In all his arms, with all his train, 295 

Shield, lance, and brand,^ and plume, and scarf. 
Fay,' giant, dragon, squire,^ and dwarf. 
And wizard with his wand of might. 
And errant ^ maid on palfrey ^^ white. 
Around the Genius weave their spells, 300 

Pure Love, who scarce his passion tells ; 
Mystery, half veiled and half revealed ; 
And Honor, with his spotless shield ; • 

1 Break a lance : enter combat. 

2 Moated: surrounded by a moat or deep trench for defence. 

3 Talisman : a magical charm. 

4 Chivalry: Knighthood; the ideal of a Knightly warrior; the Genius 
of Chivalry, the spirit or guardian power presiding over Knighthood. 

5 Prick: spur, ride rapidly. 

6 Brand: a sword. 'Fay: elf, fairy. 
8 Squire: an attendant on a Knight. 

Errant: roving; perhaps an allusion to Una, the heroine of Spenser's 
Faery Queene. 10 Palfrey : here a lady's riding-horse. 



16 MATIMION. 

Attention, with fixed eye ; and Fear, 

That loves the tale she shrinks to hear ; 305 

And gentle Courtesy ; and Faith, 

Unchanged by sufferings, time, or death ; 

And Valor, lion-mettled ^ lord. 

Leaning upon his own good sword. 

Well has thy fair achievement ^ shown 310 

A worthy meed ^ may thus be won : 
Ytene's * oaks — beneath whose shade 
Their theme the merry minstrels made, 
Of Ascapart, and Bevis ^ bold. 

And that Red King,^ who, while of old 315 

Through Boldrewood '' the chase he led, 
By his loved huntsman's arrow bled — 
Ytene's oaks have heard again 
Renewed such legendary strain ; 
For thou hast sung, how he of Gaul, 320 

That Amadis ^ so famed in hall,^ 

1 Lion-mettled : having the courage of a lion. 

2 Achievement : referring to translations of old heroic romances by Wil- 
liam Stewart Rose, the gentleman to whom Scott addressed this Introduc- 
tion to Marmion. ^ Meed: reward, honor. 

4 Ytene's oaks : the Royal Forest or Hunting Ground, called the "New 
Forest," in Hampshire, in the south of England. 

5 Ascapart and Bevis : Ascapart was the name of a giant whom Bevis, 
a famous knight of Southampton, is said, in the old romances, to have 
conquered. 

6 Red King: William Rufus, King of England (1087-1100). 

'' Boldrewood: another name for the New Forest. William Rufus was 
accidentally killed there by an arrow shot by his companion, Sir Walter 
Tyrrell, his " loved huntsman." 

8 Amadis : Amadis of Gaul was one of the old romances translated by 
Mr. Rose, Scott's friend. 

''In hall: in castle hall; that is, among knights gathered in the cas- 
tle hall. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO I. 17 

For Oriana ^ foiled in fight 

The necromancer's felon might; 

And well in modern verse hast wove 

Partenopex's ^ mystic love : 325 

Hear, then, attentive to my lay, 

A knightly tale of Albion's elder day. 

1 Oriana : the heroine of the romance of Amadis. 

2 Partenopex : Partenopex de Blois was the hero of another romance 
translated by Mr. Rose. 



©aut0 ^ir6t< 

THE CASTLE. 



Day set on Norham's ^ castled steep, 
And Tweed's fair river, broad and deep, 

And Cheviot's^ mountains lone ; 
The battled ^ towers, the donjon-keep,* 
The loophole grates where captives weep, 5 

The flanking walls ^ that round it sweep, 

In yellow lustre shone. , 

The warriors on the turrets ^ high, 
Moving athwart " the evening sky, 

Seemed forms of giant height ; ^ 10 

Their armor, as it caught the rays, 

1 Norham : the remains of Norham castle, an English royal stronghold 
under the command of Sir Hugh the Heron, are on the southern bank of 
the Tweed, on the boundary between England and Scotland. Henry VIII. 
held it as a border fortress at the time when Marmion is represented as 
visiting it on his way to James IV.'s palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh. 

2 Cheviot: the Cheviot Hills ; at one point they form the boundary be- 
tween Scotland and England. 

3 Battled : for battlemented ; that is, having square notches, or open- 
ings, at the top, through which soldiers, guarding the wall, might fire. 

4 Donjon-keep : the donjon-keep was a high, square tower, the strong- 
est part of the castle, and the final dependence* for keeping the castle 
against assault. Prisoners were often confined in the lower parts of the 
donjon, from which the word dungeon is derived. 

5 Flanking walls : the main walls of the castle, so constructed that 
they served to protect (by a side or flanking fire) the donjon from attack. 

6 Turrets : small towers, often rising from the main walls or the princi- 
pal towers of a castle. ^ Athwart : across. 

(18) 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 19 

Flashed back again the western blaze, 
In lines of dazzling light. 

n. 

Saint George's banner,^ broad and gay, 

Now faded, as the fading ray 15 

Less bright, and less, was flung ; 
The evening gale had scarce the power 
To wave it on the donjon tower, 

So heavily it hung. 
The scouts had parted ^ on their search, 20 

The castle gates were barred ; 
Above the gloomy portal arch. 
Timing his footsteps to a march. 

The warder kept his guard. 
Low humming, as he paced along, 25 

Some ancient Border gathering ^ song. 

III. 

A distant trampling sound he hears ; 
He looks abroad, and soon appears. 
O'er Horncliff-hill,^ a plump ^ of spears 

Beneath a pennon ^ gay ; 30 

A horseman, darting from the crowd 

1 Saint George's banner: the flag of England, bearing the cross of 
St. George; St. George being the national saint and hero of England. 

2 Parted: departed. 

3 Border gathering : a gathering of warriors on the border between 
England and Scotland ; this boundary was a scene of almost constant 
warfare. 

4 Horncliff-hill : a hill near Norham castle. 

5 Plump : a cluster. 

6 Pennon : a small, pointed flag, usually attached to a spear or lance. 



20 MARMION. CANTO I. 

Like lightning from a summer cloud, 
Spurs on his mettled courser ^ proud, 

Before the dark array .^ 
Beneath the sable palisade ^ 35 

That closed the castle barricade, 

His bugle-horn he blew ; 
The warder hasted from the wall. 
And warned the captain in the hall, 

For well the blast he knew ; 40 

And joyfully that knight did call 
To sewer,^ squire, and seneschal.^ 



IV. 

' Now broach ^ ye a pipe "^ of Malvoisie,^ 

Bring pasties ^ of the doe,^^ 
And quickly make the entrance free, 45 

And bid my heralds ^^ ready be, 
And every minstrel sound his glee,^ 

And all our trumpets blow ; 

1 Courser : a war-horse. 

2 Array: troops; that is, Marmion's armed train. 

3 Palisade : a fence or fortification formed of large, strong stakes, set 
upright in the ground. 

^ Sewer : an officer who served up and arranged the dishes for the table. 

5 Seneschal : a steward ; one who had the superintendence of domestic 
matters, and especially of feasts and ceremonies. 

6 Broach : tap. ^ Pipe: a very large cask of wine. 

8 Malvoisie : a sweet, strong, high-flavored wine, originally from Mal- 
vasia, Greece. 

9 Pasties : meat-pies, usually made of venison, and highly seasoned. 

10 Doe : the female of the deer. -^ , 

11 Heralds : officers who acted as messengers for persons in high 
authority. 

12 Glee : music, minstrelsy ; or the word may be used here for a musical 
instrument. 



o I. THE CASTLE. 21 

And, from the platform, spare ye not 

To fire a noble salvo-shot ; ^ 50 

Lord Marmion waits below ! ' 
Then to the castle's lower ward ^ 

Sped forty yeomen ^ tall, 
The iron-studded gates unbarred, 
Raised the portcullis' * ponderous guard, 55 

The lofty palisade unsparred,^ 

And let the drawbridge fall. 



V. 

Along the bridge Lord Marmion rode, 

Proudly his red-roan charger ^ trode. 

His helm ^ hung at the saddle bow ; 60 

Well by his visage you might know 

He was a stal worth ^ knight and keen. 

And had in many a battle been ; 

The scar on his brown cheek revealed 

A token true of Bos worth field ; ^ 65 

His eyebrow dark and eye of fire 

1 Salvo-shot: a salute, a welcome. 

2 Ward : a certain division, or section, of a castle or its grounds. 

3 Yeomen: common men, men without rank; here, perhaps, used in 
sense of retainers or followers. 

4 Portcullis: a strong grating, sliding in upright grooves, at the 
entrance-way of a castle, and used to protect the entrance in case of 
assault. 

5 Unsparred : unharred. ^ Charger: a war-horse. 
7 Helm : helmet. ^ Stalworth : stalwart. 

9 Bosworth field : a decisive hattle was fought at Bosworth Field, Leices- 
tershire, in 1485, between Richard III. and Henry, Earl of Richmond ; Rich- 
ard was slain ; and his vanquisher became King Henry VII., the first of the 
Tudor monarchs. The battle marks the end of the Wars of the Roses, which 
had been fatal to so many English knights and noblemen. 



22 MARMION. CANTO I. 

Showed spirit proud and prompt to ire ; 

Yet lines of thought upon his cheek 

Did deep design and counsel speak. 

His forehead, by his casque ^ worn bare, 70 

His thick moustache and curly hair, 

Coal-black, and grizzled here and there. 

But more through toil than age ; 
His square-turned joints and strength of limb, 
Showed him no carpet knight ^ so trim, 75 

But in close fight a champion grim, 

In camps a leader sage. 

VI. 

Well was he armed from head to heel, 

In mail ^ and plate * of Milan steel ; 

But his strong helm, of mighty cost, 80 

Was all with burnished gold embossed. 

Amid the plumage of the crest ^ 

A falcon hovered on her nest, 

With wings outspread and forward breast ; 

E'en such a falcon, on his shield, 85 

Soared sable ^ in an azure field : 

The golden legend bore aright, 

' Who checks ^ at me, to death is dight.' ^ 

1 Casque : helmet. 

2 Carpet knight : a knight who had seen no military service. 

3 Mail : armor made of links of steel, — flexible armor. 

4 Plate : armor made of plates of steel riveted together ; the armor 
made at Milan was especially celebrated,, 

5 Crest : an ornament on the top of the helmet ; it served to identify the 
wearer. 

6 Sable, etc. : that is, a black falcon on a bine ground. 

7 Checks : attacks. ^ Dight : here, destined. 



CANTO 1. THE CASTLE. 23 

Blue was the charger's broidered rein ; 

Blue ribbons decked his arching mane ; 90 

The knightly housing's ^ ample fold 

Was velvet blue and trapped ^ with gold. 

vn. 

Behind him rode two gallant squires, 

Of noble name and knightly sires : 

They burned the gilded spurs ^ to claim, 95 

For well could each a war-horse tame, 

Could draw the bow, the sword could sway, 

And lightly bear the ring * away ; 

Nor less with courteous precepts stored. 

Could dance in hall, and carve at board, 100 

And frame love-ditties passing ^ rare. 

And sing them to a lady fair. 



VIII. 

Four men-at-arms^ came at their backs. 

With halbert,'^ bill,^ and battle-axe ; 

They bore Lord Marmion's lance so strong, 105 

And led his sumpter-mules ^ along, 

And ambling palfrey, when at need 

1 Housing : a covering, or caparison of a horse ; it was often highly 
ornamental. " Trapped : ornamented. 

3 Gilded spurs : these were the especial badge of knighthood, 

4 Sing : one of the favorite exercises, or feats of arms, with the knights 
was to ride at full speed and catch and bear away a suspended ring on the 
point of a lance. 5 Passing : surpassingly. 

^ Men-at-arms: soldiers fully armed. 

' Halbert : or halberd, a combined axe and spear. 

8 Bill : a pike or spear having a broad hook-shaped blade. 

9 Sumpter-mules : mules carrying baggage. 



24 MARMION. CANTO I. 

Him listed ^ ease his battle-steed. 

The last and trustiest of the four 

On high his forky pennon bore ; no 

Like swallow's tail in shape and hue, 

Fluttered the streamer glossy blue, 

Where, blazoned ^ sable, as before, 

The towering falcon seemed to soar. 

Last, twenty yeomen, two and two, 115 

In hosen ^ black and jerkins * blue. 

With falcons broidered on each breast, 

Attended on their lord's behest.^ 

Each, chosen for an archer good. 

Knew hunting-craft by lake or wood; 120 

Each one a six-foot bow could bend. 

And far a cloth-yard shaft ^ could send ; 

Each held a boar-spear tough and strong, 

And at their belts their quivers rung. 

Their dusty palfreys and array 125 

Showed they had marched a weary way. 



IX. 

'Tis meet that I should tell you now, 
How fairly armed, and ordered how. 
The soldiers of the guard, 

1 Him listed : he chose to, or was pleased to. 

2 Blazoned : depicted, represented. 

3 Hosen : coverings for the legs. 

4 Jerkins : jackets, or shorty elose-fitting coats. 
6 Behest : command. 

6 Cloth-yard shaft: an arrow a yard in length. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 25 

With musket, pike, and morion,^ 130 

To welcome noble Marmion, 

Stood in the castle-yard ; 
Minstrels and trumpeters were there, 
The gunner held his linstock ^ jare,^ 

For welcome-shot prepared : 135 

Entered the train, and such a clang- 
As then through all his turrets rang 

Old Norham never heard. 



X. 

The guards their morrice-pikes * advanced, 

The trumpets flourished brave,^ 140 

The cannon from the ramparts glanced,^ 

And thundering welcome gave. 
A blithe salute, in martial sort, 

The minstrels well might sound. 
For, as Lord Marmion crossed the court, 145 

He scattered angels ^ round. 
* Welcome to Norham, Marmion ! 

Stout heart and open hand ! 
Well dost thou brook ^ thy gallant roan, 

Thou flower of English land ! ' 1 50 

1 Morion : an open-faced helmet. 

2 Linstock : a staff holding a match for firing a cannon, 

3 Yare : ready. 

4 Morrice-pikes: heavy spears supposed to be of Moorish origin. 

5 Brave : bravely, grandly. 

6 Glanced: flashed. 

7 Angels : English gold coins, worth about $2.50. 
s Brook : manage, control. 



26 MARMION. CANTO 1. 

XI. 

Two pursuivants,^ whom tabards ^ deck, 
With silver scutcheon ^ round their neck. 

Stood on the steps of stone 
By which you reach the donjon gate, 
And there, with herald pomp and state, 155 

They hailed Lord Marmion : 
They hailed him Lord of Fontenaye,* 
Of Lutterward, and Scrivelbaye, 

Of Tamworth tower and town ; 
And he, their courtesy to requite, 160 

Gave them a chain ^ of twelve marks' ^ weight. 

All as he lighted down. 
' Now, largesse, largesse,^ Lord Marmion, 

Knight of the crest of gold ! 
A blazoned shield, in battle won, 165 

Ne'er guarded heart so bold.' 

1 Pursuivants : attendants on the heralds. 

2 Tabards : coats or tunics (with very short sleeves or with none at all), 
decorated with armorial devices. In Chaucer's time (14th century) the 
tabard was a plain garment worn commonly by peasants and workingraen ; 
later it came into use as a military garment worn over armor. In the case 
of a pursuivant or herald it was embroidered with the arms of his lord or 
of the sovereign. 

3 Scutcheon : an escutcheon or shield decorated with a coat of arms. 

4 Lord of Fontenaye : Scott here represents Marmion as a descendant 
and inheritor of a Robert de Marmion, Lord of Fontenay, Normandy, who 
came to England with William the Conqueror (1066), and received from 
him a grant of Tamworth, in Staffordshire, and of Scrivelsby, in Lincoln- 
shire. Lutterward is said to be a corruption of Lutterworth, Leicester- 
shire. 

5 Chain : a gold chain. ~ ^^ 

c Marks: here used, apparently, of certain old coins, worth somewhat 
more than S3.00. 

'' Largesse : a gift ; but the expression is here used to acknowledge Mar- 
mion's liberality. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 27 

XII. 

They marshalled him to the castle-hall, 

Where the guests stood all aside, 
And loudly flourished the trumpet-call. 

And the heralds loudly cried, — 170 

' Room, lordlings,^ room for Lord Marmion, 

With the crest and helm of gold ! 
Full well we know the trophies won 

In the lists ^ at Cottis^vold : ^ 
There, vainly Ralph de Wilton strove 175 

'Gainst Marmion's force to stand ; 
To him he lost his lady-love. 

And to the king his land. 
Ourselves beheld the listed field, 

A sight both sad and fair ; 180 

We saw Lord Marmion pierce his shield. 

And saw his saddle bare ; 
We saw the victor win the crest 

He wears with worthy pride. 
And on the gibbet-tree,^ reversed,^ 185 

His foeman's scutcheon tied. 
Place, nobles, for the Falcon-Knight ! 

Room, room, ye gentles^ gay. 
For him who conquered in the right, 

Marmion of Fontenaye I ' 190 

1 Lordlings : lesser lords ; an expression used here by way of compari- 
son, and out of compliment, to Lord Marmion, 

2 Lists : enclosed grounds, for tournaments and knightly feats of arms. 

3 Cottiswold : Cotswold, Gloucestershire. 

4 Gibbet-tree : the gallows. 

5 Reversed: the knight's escutcheon, or shield, was hung upside down 
as a sign of his conquest. 

^ Gentles : persons of good birth ; gentlemen. 



28 MARMION. CANTO I. 

XIII. 

Then stepped, to meet that noble lord, 

Sir Hugh the Heron ^ bold. 
Baron of Twisell ^ and of Ford,^ 

And Captain of the Hold ; * 
He led Lord Marmion to the deas,^ 195 

Raised o'er the pavement high. 
And placed him in the upper place — 

They feasted full and high : 
The whiles ^ a Northern harper rude 
Chanted a rhyme of deadly feud,'' 200 

' How the fierce Thirwalls, and Ridleys all. 
Stout Willimondswick, 
And Hardriding Dick, 

And Hughie of Hawdon, and Will o' the Wall, 
Have set on Sir Albany Featherstonhaugh, 205 

And taken his life at the Deadman's-shaw.' ^ 

Scantly ^ Lord Marmion's ear could brook ^^ 
The harper's barbarous lay. 

Yet much he praised the pains he took, 

And well those pains did pay ; 210 

For lady's suit and minstrel's strain 
By knight should ne'er be heard in vain. 



1 Sir Hugh the Heron : Sir Hugh is represented as commander of the 
castle in behalf of King Henry VHI., who held it as a border fortress. 

2 Twisell : near Norham castle. 

3 Ford : Ford castle, Northumberland, England, near the boundary. 

4 Hold : the stronghold, or castle. 

5 Deas : the dais, — an elevated platform, or place of honor, at the far- 
ther end of the castle hall. 6 The whiles : while. 

' Feud : quarrel ; or a war waged by one family or class upon another. 

8 Shaw : a thicket, or small wood. 

' Scantly : scarcely, hardly. w Brook : endure. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 29 

XIV. 

* Now, good Lord Marmion,' Heron says, 

' Of your fair courtesy, 
I pray you bide some little space 215 

In this poor tower with me. 
Here may you keep your arms from rust. 

May breathe ^ your war-horse well ; 
Seldom hath passed a week but joust ^ 

Or feat of arms befell. 220 

The Scots can rein a mettled steed, 

And love to couch ^ a spear ; — 
Saint George ! a stirring life they lead 

That have such neighbors near ! 
Then stay with us a little space, 225 

Our Northern wars to learn ; 
I pray you for your lady's grace ! ' 

Lord Marmion's brow grew stern. 



XV. 

The captain marked his altered look, 

And gave the squire the sign ; 230 

A mighty wassail-bowl ^ he took, 

And crowned ^ it high with wine. 

1 Breathe : rest. 

2 Joust : a military contest, usually with hlunted lances, between 
mounted knights. 

3 Couch a spear: to hold a spear in attitude of attack or defence; 
hence, to fight. 

4 Wassail-bowl: (Anglo-Saxon, ices hod, health he to you) a bowl for 
drinking wassail, — a mixture of ale with nutmeg, sugar, etc. 

5 Crowned : to crown is to fill a cup so that its contents rise a little 
above the brim. 



30 MARMION. CANTO I. 

' Now pledge me here, Lord Marmion ; 

But first I pray thee fair, 
Where hast thou left that page ^ of thine 235 

That used to serve thy cup of wine. 

Whose beauty was so rare ? 
When last in Raby-towers ^ we met, 

The boy I closely eyed, 
And often marked his cheeks were wet 240 

With tears he fain^ would hide. 
His was no rugged horse-boy's hand. 
To burnish shield or sharpen brand. 

Or saddle battle-steed. 
But meeter seemed for lady fair, 245 

To fan her cheek, or curl her hair. 
Or through embroidery, rich and rare, 

The slender silk to lead ; 
His skin was fair, his ringlets gold. 

His bosom — when he sighed, 250 

The russet doublet's * rugged fold 

Could scarce repel its pride ! 
Say, hast thou given that lovely youth 

To serve in lady's bower ? ^ 
Or was the gentle page, in sooth,^ 255 

A gentle paramour ? ' "^ 

1 Page : a lad acting as au atteudaut on a person of rank. Marmion's 
so-called page, Constance de Beverley, will take a chief and tragic part in 
Canto II. (See Cantos II., XX.-XXXII.) 

2 Kaby-towers : Raby Castle, in the county of Durham, England. 

3 Fain : gladly, eagerly. 

4 Doublet : a close-fitting garment^^ten of silk, covering the body from 
the neck to a little below the waist. 

5 Bower : originally a dwelling, a cottage ; here, a lady's chamber. 

6 Sooth : truth. 

^ Paramour : lady-love. 



THE CASTLE. 31 



XVI. 



Lord Marmion ill could brook such jest ; 

He rolled his kindling eye, 
With pain his rising wrath suppressed, 

Yet made a calm reply : 260 

' That boy thou thought so goodly fair. 
He might not brook the Northern air. 
More of his fate if thou wouldst learn, 
I left him sick in Lindisfarne.^ 
Enough of him. — But, Heron, say, 265 

Why does thy lovely lady gay 
Disdain to grace the hall to-day ? 
Or has that dame, so fair and sage, 
Gone on some pious pilgrimage ? ' — 
He spoke in covert scorn, for fame 270 

Whispered light tales of Heron's dame. 

xvn. 

Unmarked, at least unrecked,^ the taunt, 

Careless the knight replied : 
' No bird whose feathers gayly flaunt 

Delights in cage to bide ; 275 

Norham is grim and grated close. 
Hemmed in by battlement and fosse,^ 

And many a darksome tower. 
And better loves my lady bright 
To sit in liberty and light 280 

1 Lindisfarne : " an isle on the coast of Northumberland [England] was 
called Holy Island, from the sanctity of its ancient monastery." —Scott. 

2 Unrecked : unheeded. 

3 Fosse : moat, ditch. 



32 MARMION. CANTO I. 

In fair Queen Margaret's ^ bower. 
We hold our greyhound in our hand, 

Our falcon ^ on our glove, 
But where shall we find leash ^ or band 

For dame that loves to rove? 285 

Let the wild falcon soar her swing, 
She'll stoop when she has tired her wing.' — 

XVIII. 

' Nay, if with Royal James's bride 

The lovely Lady Heron bide, 

Behold me here a messenger, Z90 

Your tender greetings prompt to bear ; 

For, to the Scottish court ^ addressed, 

I journey at our king's behest. 

And pray you, of your grace, provide 

For me and mine a trusty guide. 295 

I have not ridden in Scotland since 

James backed the cause of that mock prince, 

Warbeck,^ that Flemish counterfeit, 

Who on the gibbet paid the cheat. 

Then did I march with Surrey's power,^ 300 

What time ' we razed ^ old Ay ton tower.' ^ — 

1 Queen Margaret : the queen of James IV. of Scotland. 

2 Falcon : the falcon, a bird of the hawk family, was formerly much 
used for hunting small game ; the falcon was held by the huntsman on his 
wrist or hand. 3 Leash : a cord for holding a dog. 

4 Scottish court : the royal court, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. 

s Warbeck : Perkin Warbeck — said by Scott to have been a Fleming, 
or native of Flanders — was an adventurer who pretended to be the younger 
son of Edward IV. After Henry Vll^came to the throne, Warbeck headed 
an insurrection, and claimed the crown. He was captured, and in 1499 was 
hanged as a traitor. 6 Power : military force, troops. 

'' What time : when. § Eazed : demolished. 

'■> Ayton tower : Ayton's castle, in Berwickshire, Scotland. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLfi. 33 

XIX. 

' For such-like need, my lord, I trow,* 
Norliam can find you guides enow ; ^ 
For here be some have pricked as far 
On Scottish ground as to Dunbar,^ 305 

Have drunk the monks of Saint Bothan's* ale, 
And driven the beeves ^ of Lauderdale,^ 
Harried '^ the wives ^ of Greenlaw's ^ goods, 
And given them light ^^ to set their hoods.' — 



XX. 

t^ow, in good sooth,' ^^ Lord Marmion cried, 310 

'Were I in warlike wise^^ to ride, 

A better guard I would not lack ^^ 

Than your stout f orayers ^^ at my back ; 

But as in form of peace I go, 

A friendly messenger, to know, 315 

Why, through all Scotland, near and far. 

Their king is mustering troops for war. 

The sight of plundering Border spears 

1 Tro-w : think or believe. 2 Enow : enough. 

3 Dunbar : at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, Scotland, about 30 miles 
east of Edinburgh. 

4 Saint Bothan's : probably St. Bothan's monastery, Scotland, near the 
border. Of course the English were not very particular to ask the monks' 
leave before drinking their ale. 

5 Driven the beeves : stolen and driven off the cattle. 

6 Lauderdale : the valley of the Lauder, a branch of the Tweed. 
''Harried: plundered. 8 Wives : women (Scotch). 
f> Greenlaw : the capital of Berwickshire, Scotland. 

10 Given them light, etc. : that is, enabled them to adjust their hoods or 
bonnets by the light of their own blazing homes, fired by these marauders. 

11 In good sooth : truly. 12 wise : manner. 

13 Lack : want. w Forayers : marauders. 



34 MARMION. CANTO X. 

Might justify suspicious fears, 

And deadly feud or thirst of spoil 320 

Break out in some unseemly broil. 

A herald were my fitting guide ; 

Or friar ^ sworn in peace to bide ; 

Or pardoner,^ or travelling priest, 

Or strolling pilgrim,^ at the least.' 325 

XXI. 

The captain mused a little space. 

And passed his hand across his face. — 

' Fain would I find the guide you want, 

But ill may spare a pursuivant, A 

The only men that safe can ride 330 

Mine errands on the Scottish side ; 

And though a bishop built this fort, 

Few holy brethren here resort ; 

Even our good chaplain, as I ween,* 

Since our last siege we have not seen. 335 

The mass ^ he might not sing or say 

Upon one stinted meal ^ a-day ; 

So, safe he sat in Durham aisle,^ 

And prayed for our success the while. 

1 Friar : one of an order of monks that lived by begging. 

2 Pardoner : one formerly licensed to sell the indulgences, or pardons, 
issued by the Pope. 

^ Pilgrim : one who made religious pilgrimages to the holy places in 
Jerusalem and other foreign lands. 

4 Ween : think, fancy. 

5 Mass : the Roman Catholic communion service. 

6 One stinted meal : this would seem to^mean that, during the siege the 
occupants of the castle got but one stinted meal, which the chaplain thought 
hardly sufficient in his case. 

5" Durham aisle : Durham cathedral. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 35 

Our Norham vicar,^ woe betide,^ 340 

Is all too well in case ^ to ride ; 

The priest of Shoreswood — he could rein 

The wildest war-horse in your train, 

But then no spearman in the hall 

Will sooner swear, or stab, or brawl. 345 

Friar John of Tillmouth were the man ; 

A blithesome * brother at the can,^ 

A welcome guest in hall and bower,^ 

He knows each castle, town, and tower, 

In which the wine and ale is good, 350 

'Twixt Newcastle and Holy-RoodJ 

But that good man, as ill befalls,^ 

Hath seldom left our castle walls. 

Since, on the vigil ^ of Saint Bede,^^ 

In evil hour he crossed the Tweed, 355 

To teach Dame Alison her creed. 

Old Bughtrig found him with his wife. 

And John, an enemy to strife. 

Sans ^1 frock and hood, fled for his life. 

The jealous churl ^^ hath deeply swore 360 

1 Vicar : a subordinate clergyman or priest. 

2 Betide: happen, befall; "woe betide " here apparently used either 
in the sense of alas, or of mischief take him ! 

3 Well in case : stout, fat. ^ Blithesome : merry, jolly. 

5 Can : tankard or cup for ale or wine. 

6 Hall and bower : among both men and women. 

" Holy-Rood : Holy-Rood (Holy Cross) Abbey or Palace, Edinburgh. 

8 111 befalls : unfortunately happens. 

9 Vigil : religious watching, fasting, and prayer ; here observed the night 
before St. Bede's Day (May 27). 

10 Saint Bede : an eminent English monk and historian of the eighth 
century. 11 Sans : without, destitute of. 

12 Churl : (A. S. ceorl, a freeman of the lowest rank) a peasant; a coarse, 
rude fellow. 



36 MARMION. CANTO I. 

That, if again he venture o'er, 
He shall shrive ^ penitent no more. 
Little he loves such risks, I know, 
Yet in your guard perchance will go/ 

XXTI. 

Young Selby, at the fair hall-board, 365 

Carved ^ to his uncle and that lord. 

And reverently took up the word : 

' Kind uncle, woe were we each one. 

If harm should hap to brother John. 

He is a man of mirthful speech, 370 

Can many a game and gambol teach ; 

Full well at tables ^ can he play, 

And sweep at bowls * the stake away. 

None can a lustier carol bawl. 

The needfullest among us all, 375 

When time hangs heavy in the hall, 

And snow comes thick at Christmas tide,^ 

And we can neither hunt nor ride 

A foray on the Scottish side. 

The vowed revenge of Bughtrig rude 380 

May end in worse than loss of hood. 

Let Friar John in safety still 

In chimney-corner snore his fill, 

1 Shrive : absolve, pardon. 

2 Carved : the office of carver was then a position of some honor and 
importance. 

3 Tables : backgammon. "^ 

4 Bowls : a game resembling that of tenpins, but played on a level plat 
of green-sward. 

5 Tide : time, season. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 87 

Roast hissing crabs,^ or flagons ^ swill ; 

Last night, to Norham there came one 385 

Will better guide Lord Marmion.' — 

' Nephew,' quoth Heron, ' by my fay,^ 

Well hast thou spoke ; say forth thy say.' — 

xxni. 

' Here is a holy Palmer * come. 

From Salem ^ first, and last from Rome ; 390 

One that hath kissed the blessed torab,^ 

And visited each holy shrine '^ 

In Araby and Palestine ; 

On hills of Armenie ^ hath been, 

Where Noah's ark may yet be seen ; 395 

By that Red Sea, too, hath he trod. 

Which parted at the Prophet's rod ; ^ 

In Sinai's wilderness he saw 

The Mount where Israel heard the law. 

Mid thunder-dint,^*^ and flashing levin, 400 

And shadows, mists, and darkness, given. 

He shows Saint James's cockle-shell,^^ 

1 Crabs : crab apples. 

2 Flagons : table-vessels for holding ale or liquor; they have a handle, 
spout, and cover. 3 Fay : faith. 

4 Palmer : the Palmer was a pilgrim, says Scott, who spent his entire 
time in visiting holy places, travelling incessantly, and living on charity. 
Such pilgrims often wore a branch of palm in their hats, to show that they 
had been in Jerusalem. 5 Salem : Jerusalem. 

6 Blessed tomb : the tomb of Christ. 

^ Shrine : originally, a box holding the bones of a deceased saint ; next, 
a tomb shaped like a shrine. 8 Armenie : Armenia. 

9 Rod : see Exodus xiv. 21. 10 Thunder-dint : thunder-clap. 

11 Saint James's cockle-shell : the shrine of St. James, the national saint 
of Spain, at Compostella, was a favorite resort of pilgrims in the Middle 



38 MARMION. CANTO 1. 

Of fair Montserrat,^ too, can tell ; 

And of that Grot ^ where Olives nod, 
Where, darling of each heart and eye, 405 

From all the youth of Sicily, 

Saint Rosalie retired to God. 



XXIV. 

' To stout Saint George of Norwich merry. 

Saint Thomas,^ too, of Canterbury, 

Cuthbert of Durham,^ and Saint Bede, 410 

For his sins' pardon hath he prayed. 

He knows the passes ^ of the North, 

And seeks far shrines beyond the Forth ; 

Little he eats, and long will wake, 

And drinks but of the stream or lake. 415 

This were a guide o'er moor and dale ; 

But when our John hath quaffed his ale. 

As little as the wind that blows, 

And warms itself against his nose, 

Kens he, or cares, which way he goes.' — 420 

Ages. The cockle shell was his especial symbol ; and the palmer wore one, 
to show that he had visited the shrine. 

1 Montserrat : an abbey on the mountain of Montserrat, in northeastern 
Spain. 

2 Grot : Santa Rosalia of Palermo, having resolved to devote herself to 
God, forsook her father's house, and, going into a cleft, or grot, in a moun- 
tain, there spent her life in meditation and prayer. A chapel, dedicated to 
her memory, was built on the spot where her body was found. 

3 Saint Thomas : the martyr, Tiromas a Becket. 

4 Cuthbert : the shrine of St. Cuthbert, in Durham Cathedral, was vis- 
ited by pilgrims for centuries, in the belief that his body was miraculously 
preserved. 

s Passes: the passes through the mountains. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 39 

XXV. 

' Gramercy ! ' ^ quoth ^ Lord Marmion, 

' Full loth were I that Friar John, 

That venerable man, for me 

Were placed in fear or jeopardy : ^ 

If this same Palmer will me lead 425 

From hence to Holy-Rood, 
Like his good saint, I'll pay his meed, 
Instead of cockle-shell or bead,^ 

With angels fair and good. 
I love such holy ramblers ; still 430 

They know to charm a weary hill 

With song, romance, or lay : 
Some jovial tale, or glee, or jest. 
Some lying legend, at the least. 

They bring to cheer the way.' — 435 

XXVI. 

' Ah ! noble sir,' young Selby said. 

And finger on his lip he laid, 

' This man knows much, perchance e'en ^ more 

Than he could learn by holy lore. 

Still ^ to himself he's muttering, 440 

And shrinks as at some unseen thing. 

Last night we listened at his cell ; ^ 

Strange sounds we heard, and, sooth to tell, 

1 Gramercy : many thanks. 2 Quoth : said. 

3 Jeopardy : danger. 

^ Bead : referring to the beads used in telling or counting prayers. 

^ E'en : even. 6 still : even or constantly. 

' Cell : any small apartment or place of residence. 



40 MARMION. CANTO I. 

He murmured on till morn, howe'er 

No living mortal could be near. 445 

Sometimes I thought I heard it plain, 

As other voices spoke again. 

I cannot tell — I like it not — 

Friar John hath told us it is wrote. 

No conscience clear and void of wrong 450 

Can rest awake and pray so long. 

Himself still sleeps before his beads 

Have marked ten aves ^ and two creeds.' ^ — 



XXVII. 

' Let pass,' ^ quoth Marmion ; ' by my fay, 
This man shall guide me on my way, 455 

Although the great arch-fiend* and he 
Had sworn themselves of company. 
So please you, gentle youth, to call 
This Palmer to the castle hall.' 
The summoned Palmer came in place : 460 

His sable cowl ^ o'erhung his face ; 
In his black mantle was he clad. 
With Peter's ke3^s,^ in cloth of red. 
On his broad shoulders wrought ; 
The scallop shell ^ his cap did deck ; 465 

1 Aves : prayers to the Virgin Mary, beginning with the Latin word 
ave (hail). 

2 Creeds : referring to tlie Apostles' Creed, which begins with the Latin 
word credo (I believe). _^ 3 Let pass : it matters not. 

4 Arch-fiend: Satan. s^Cowl: a monk's hood. 

6 Peter's keys : St. Peter's keys, one of the principal emblems of the 
Catholic Church. They signify power ; see Matt, xvi, 19. 

7 Scallop shell : same as cockle shell. See note 11, p. 37. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 41 

The crucifix ^ around his neck 

Was from Loretto ^ brought ; 
His sandals ^ were with travel tore, 
Staff, budget, bottle, scrip,* he wore ; 
The faded palm-branch in his hand 470 

Showed pilgrim from the Holy Land. 

XXVIII. 

Whenas the Palmer came in hall. 

Nor Lord nor knight was there more tall, 

Or had a statelier step withal. 

Or looked more high and keen ; 475 

For no saluting did he wait. 
But strode across the hall of state. 
And fronted Marmion where he sate. 

As he his peer had been. 
But his gaunt frame was worn with toil ; 480 

His cheek was sunk, alas the while ! 
And when he struggled at a smile 

His eye looked haggard wild : 
Poor wretch, the mother that him bare, 
If she had been in presence there, 485 

In his wan ^ face and sunburnt hair 

She had not known her child. 
Danger, long travel, want, or woe, 

1 Crucifix : a cross having on it an image of Christ. 

2 Loretto : a celebrated sanctuary — the "Holy House" — in a church 
in Loretto, Italy. According to an ancient legend, the " Holy House " was 
that in which the Virgin Mary was born; and it was said to have been 
miraculously transported by angels from Nazareth to Italy. 

3 Sandals : a kind of shoes consisting of soles only, fastened to the foot 
by means of straps. 

4 Scrip : a bag or wallet. 5 Wan : pale. 



42 MARMION. 



CANTO 1. 



Soon change the form that best we know — 

For deadly fear can time outgo, 490 

And blanch at once the hair ; 
Hard toil can roughen form and face, 
And want can quench the eye's bright grace, 
Nor does old age a wrinkle trace 

More deeply than despair. 495 

Happy whom none of these befall, 
But this poor Palmer knew them all. 

XXIX. 

Lord Marmion then his boon ^ did ask ; 

The Palmer took on him the task, 

So he would march with morning tide, 500 

To Scottish court to be his guide. 

' But I have solemn vows to pay, 

And may not linger by the way. 

To fair Saint Andrew's ^ bound. 
Within the ocean-cave to pray, 505 

Where good Saint Rule ^ his holy lay, 
From midnight to the dawn of day. 

Sung to the billows' sound ; 
Thence to Saint Fillan's * blessed well, 
Whose spring can frenzied dreams dispel, 510 

And the crazed brain restore. 

1 Boon: favor. 

2 Saint Andrew's : a city of Scotland, almost 40 miles northeast of 
Edinburgh; here St. Rule once had his cell. 

3 Saint Eule : he was the first naissionary who converted the Scotch to 
Christianity, and, according to the legend, carried the bones of the apostle 
Andrew to Scotland. 

4 Saint Fillan's : a village of Perthshire, Scotland. The peasantry still 
believe in the miraculous power of the well to cure disease. 



CANTO I. THE CASTLE. 43 

Saint Mary ^ grant that cave or spring 
Could back to peace my bosom bring, 
Or bid it throb no more ! ' 



XXX. 

And now the midnight draught of sleep, 515 

Where wine and spices richly steep. 
In massive bowl of silver deep, 

The page presents on knee. 
Lord Marmion drank a fair good rest. 
The captain pledged ^ his noble guest, 520 

The cup went through among the rest. 

Who drained it merrily ; 
Alone the Palmer passed it by, 
Though Selby pressed him courteously. 
This was a sign the feast v/as o'er ; 525 

It hushed the merry wassail ^ roar, 

The minstrels ceased to sound. 
Soon in the castle nought was heard 
But the slow footstep of the guard 

Pacing his sober round. 530 



XXXT. 

With early dawn Lord Marmion rose : 
And first the chapel doors unclose ; 
Then, after morning rites* were done — 
A hasty mass from Friar John — 

1 Saint Mary: the Virgin Mary. 3 Wassail : here, festivity. 

2 Pledged : drank his health. 4 Rites : religious services. 



44 MARMION. CANTO I. 

And knight and squire had broke their fast 535 

On rich substantial repast, 

Lord Marmion's bugles blew to horse. 

Then came the stirrup-cup ^ in course : 

Between the baron and his host, 

No point of courtesy was lost ; 540 

High thanks were by Lord Marmion paid, 

Solemn excuse the captain made. 

Till, filing from the gate, had passed 

That noble train, their lord the last. 

Then loudly rung the trumpet call ; 545 

Thundered the cannon from the wall, 

And shook the Scottish shore ; 
Around the castle eddied slow 
Volumes of smoke as white as snow 

And hid its turrets hoar, 550 

Till they rolled forth upon the air, 
And met the river breezes there, 
Which gave again the prospect fair. 

1 stirrup-cup : a cup drunk at parting. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO SECOND. 

To THE Rev. JOHN MARRIOT,i A.M. 

Ashestiel, Ettrick Forest. 

The scenes are desert now and bare, 

Where flourished once a forest fair, 

When these waste glens with copse ^ were lined, 

And peopled with the hart and hind.^ 

Yon thorn — perchance whose prickly spears 5 

Have fenced him for three hundred years, 

While fell around his green compeers * — 

Yon lonely thorn, would he could tell 

The changes of his parent dell. 

Since he, so gray and stubborn now, 10 

Waved in each breeze a sapling bough ! 

Would he could tell how deep the shade 

A thousand mingled branches made ; 

How broad the shadows of the oak. 

How clung the rowan ^ to the rock, 15 

And through the foliage showed his head, 

With narrow leaves and berries red ; 

What pines on every mountain sprung. 

O'er every dell what birches hung, 

1 Rev. John Marriot, A.M. : Mr. Harriot, who died while a young man, 
in 1808, was tutor to George Henry, Lord Scott; he wrote several ballads, 
which Scott published in Border Minstrelsij. 

2 Copse : see Copsewood, note 5, page 12. 

3 Hart and hind : male and female deer. 

^ Compeers : companions. s Rowan : the mountain ash. 

(45) 



46 MARMION. 

In every breeze what aspens shook, 20 

What alders shaded every brook ! 

' Here in my shade,' methinks he'd say, 
' The mighty stag at noontide lay ; 
The wolf Tve seen, a fiercer game, — 
The neighboring dingle ^ bears his name, — 25 

With lurching step around me prowl. 
And stop, against the moon to howl ; 
The mountain-boar, on battle set. 
His tusks upon my stem would whet ; 
While doe, and roe,^ and red-deer good, 30 

Have bounded by through gay greenwood. 
Then oft from Newark's ^ riven tower 
Sallied a Scottish monarch's power : 
A thousand vassals * mustered round. 
With horse, and hawk,^ and horn, and hound ; 35 
And I might see the youth intent 
Guard every pass with crossbow bent ; 
And through the brake, ^ the rangers ^ stalk, 
And falconers hold the ready hawk ; 
And foresters in greenwood trim, 40 

Lead in the leash the gazehounds ^ grim, 
Attentive, as the bratchet's ^ bay 

1 Dingle : a narrow valley. 2 jjoe : a species of monntain deer. 

3 Newark's riven tower : Newark Castle, with its cracked or riven 
tower, is on the Yarrow, a tributary of the Tweed, Scotland. 

4 Vassals : followers, dependents^ 

5 Hawk : the hawk, like the falcon, was used in hunting small game. 

6 Brake : here, underbrush. 

5" Rangers : the keepers of the king's^torest, or hunting-ground ; they 
helped to rouse the game. 

8 Gazehounds : hounds which follow game by sight, not scent. 

9 Bratchets : slow hounds. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO II. 47 

From the dark covert drove the prey, 

To slip them ^ as he broke away. 

The startled quarry ^ bounds amain, 45 

As fast the gallant greyhounds strain ; 

Whistles the arrow from the bow, 

Answers the harquebuss ^ below ; 

While all the rocking hills reply 

To hoof-clang, hound, and hunters' cry, 50 

And bugles ringing lightsomely.' * 

Of such proud huntings many tales 
Yet linger in our lonely dales, 
Up pathless Ettrick ^ and on Yarrov/, 
Where erst ^ the outlaw drew his arrow. 55 

But not more blithe that sylvan ^ court, 
Than we have been at humbler sport ; 
Though small our pomp and mean our game. 
Our mirth, dear Harriot, was the same. 
Remember'st thou my greyhounds true ? 60 

O'er holt ^ or hill there never flew. 
From slip or leash there never sprang, 
More fleet of foot or sure of fang. 
Nor dull, between each merry chase. 
Passed by the intermitted space ; 65 

For we had fair resource in store, 

1 To slip them : that is, let slip or loose the hounds at the right moment. 

2 Quarry : game. 

3 Harquebuss : a long, heavy gun. 
■i Lightsomely : gaily, cheerfully. 

^ Ettrick : the Yarrow is a branch of the Ettrick, which empties into the 
weed. " Pathless Ettrick " here refers, apparently, to Ettrick Forest. 
6 Erst: once. 

' Sylvan : wooded, shaded. 
8 Holt : woodland. 



48 MAKMION. 

In Classic and in Gothic ^ lore : 

We marked each memorable scene, 

And held poetic talk between ; 

Nor hill, nor brook, we paced along, 70 

But had its legend or its song. 

All silent now — for now are still 

Thy bowers, untenanted Bowhill ! 2 

No longer from thy mountains dun 

The yeoman ^ hears the well-known gun, 75 

And while his honest heart glows warm 

At thought of his paternal farm. 

Round to his mates a brimmer * fills. 

And drinks, ' The Chieftain of the Hills ! ' ^ 

No fairy forms, in Yarrow's bowers, 80 

Trip o'er the walks or tend the flowers. 

Fair as the elves ^ whom Janet ^ saw 

By moonlight dance on Carterhaugh ; ^ 

No youthful Baron's ^ left to grace 

The Forest-Sheriff's ^^ lonely chace,ii 85 

And ape, in manly step and tone, 

The majesty of Oberon : '^ 

1 Gothic : here, meaning not classical, romantic. 

2 Bowhill : a country seat of the Duke of Buccleuch. 

3 Yeoman : a countryman, a small farmer. 

4 Brimmer : a cup filled to the brim. 

5 Chieftain of the Hills : referring, perhaps, to the Duke of Buccleuch. 

6 Elves : fairies. 

7 Janet : this refers to the story of Young Tatnlane, given by Scott in 
his volume of Border Minstrelsy. 

8 Carterhaugh : a meadow not far from Newark Castle. 

9 Baron : the Duke of Buccleuch. 

10 Forest-Sheriff : an ofiicer who had^^harge of a forest. Scott was him- 
self forest-sheriff at one time. ii Chace : hunting. 

12 Oberon : the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's Midsummer NighVs 
Dream. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO II. 49 

And she ^ is gone whose lovely face 

Is but her least and lowest grace ; 

Though if to Sylphid ^ Queen 'twere given 90 

To show our earth the charms of heaven, 

She could not glide along the air 

With form more light or face more fair. 

No more the widow's deafened ear 

Grows quick that lady's step to hear : " 95 

At noontide she expects her not, 

Nor busies her to trim the cot ; ^ 

Pensive she turns her humming wheel. 

Or pensive cooks her orphans' meal, 

Yet blesses, ere she deals their bread, 100 

The gentle hand by which they're fed. 

From Yair — which hills so closely bind, 
Scarce can the Tweed his passage find, 
Though much he fret, and chafe, and toil. 
Till all his eddying currents boil — 105 

Her long-descended lord is gone. 
And left us by the stream alone. 
And much I miss those sportive boys, 
Companions of my mountain joys. 
Just at the age 'twixt boy and youth, no 

When thought is speech, and speech is truth. 
Close to my side with what delight 
They pressed to hear of Wallace * wight,^ 

1 She : referring' to the lady who became the Duchess of Buccleuch. 

2 Sylphid : sylphs are imaginary spirits, or fairies, inhabiting the air; 
and sylphid is a diminutive form of sylph. 3 Cot : cottage. 

* Wallace : a celebrated Scottish hero and patriot of the thirteenth century. 
5 Wight : this word appears to be used here as an adjective, meaning 
strong, active, warlike. 



50 MARMION. 

When, pointing to his airy mound,^ 

I called his ramparts holy ground ! 115 

Kindled their brows to hear me speak ; 

And I have smiled to feel my cheek, 

Despite the difference of our years. 

Return again the glow of theirs. 

Ah, happy boys ! such feelings pure, 120 

They will not, cannot long endure ; 

Condemned to stem the world's rude tide, 

You may not linger by the side ; 

For Fate shall thrust you from the shore, 

And Passion ply the sail and oar. 125 

Yet cherish the remembrance still 

Of the lone mountain and the rill ; 

For trust, dear boys, the time will come. 

When fiercer transport shall be dumb. 

And you will think right frequently, 130 

But, well I hope, without a sigh. 

On the free hours that we have spent 

Together on the brown hill's bent.^ 

When, musing on companions gone. 
We doubly feel ourselves alone, 135 

Something, my friend, we yet may gain ; 
There is a pleasure in this pain : 
It soothes the love of lonely rest. 
Deep in each gentler heart impressed. 
'Tis silent amid worldly toils, . , 140 

And stifled soon by mental broils ; 

1 Airy mound : Scott informs us that, near his residence of Ashestiel, 
there is, on a high ridge, a ditch known as Wallace's Trench. 

2 Bent: slope ; bent is also a kind of coarse grass. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO II. 61 

But, in a bosom thus prepared, 

Its still small voice is often heard. 

Whispering a mingled sentiment 

'Twixt resignation and content. 145 

Oft in my mind such thoughts awake 

By lone Saint Mary's ^ silent lake : 

Thou know'st it well, — nor fen nor sedge ^ 

Pollute the pure lake's crystal edge ; 

Abrupt and sheer, the mountains sink 150 

At once upon the level brink, 

And just a trace of silver sand 

Marks where the water meets the land. 

Far in the mirror, bright and blue, 

Each hill's huge outline you may view ; 1 55 

Shaggy with heath, but lonely bare. 

Nor tree, nor bush, nor brake is there. 

Save where of land yon slender line 

Bears thwart ^ the lake the scattered pine. 

Yet even this nakedness has power, 160 

And aids the feeling of the hour : 

Nor thicket, dell, nor copse you spy. 

Where living thing concealed might lie ; 

Nor point retiring hides a dell 

Where swain or woodman lone might dwell. 165 

There's nothing left to fancy's guess. 

You see that all is loneliness : 

And silence aids — though the steep hills 

Send to the lake a thousand rills ; 

In summer tide so soft they weep, 170 

1 Saint Mary's lake : the source of the Yarrow. 

2 Sedge : a kind of marsh grass. 

3 Thwart : across. 



52 MARMION. 

The sound but lulls the ear asleep ; 
Your horse's hoof-tread sounds too rude, 
So stilly is the solitude. 

Nought living meets the eye or ear, 
But well I ween the dead are near; 175 

For though, in feudal strife, a foe 
Hath laid Our Lady's^ chapel low. 
Yet still, beneath the hallowed soil, 
The peasant rests him from his toil, 
And dying bids his bones be laid 180 

Where erst his simple fathers prayed. 

If age had tamed the passions' strife. 
And fate had cut my ties to life, 
Here have I thought 'twere sweet to dwell. 
And rear again the chaplain's cell, 185 

Like that same peaceful hermitage. 
Where Milton longed to spend his age. 
'Twere sweet to mark the setting day 
On Bourhope's ^ lonely top decay. 
And, as it faint and feeble died 190 

On the broad lake and mountain's side. 
To say, ' Thus pleasures fade away ; 
Youth, talents, beauty, thus decay. 
And leave us dark, forlorn, and gray ; 
Then gaze on Dryhope's ^ ruined tower, 195 

And think on Yarrow's faded Flower : * 

1 Our Lady : the Virgin Mary ; the chapel is near St. Mary's Lake. 
2Bourhope: a mountain overlooking ^t. Mary's Lake (see note 1, 
page 51). 

3 Dryhope : a ruined tower on the bank of St. Mary's Lake. 

4 Yarrow's faded Flower : this may refer either to Mary Scott, daugh- 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO II. 53 

And when that mountain-sound I heard, 

Which bids us be for storm prepared, 

The distant rustling of his wings. 

As up his force the Tempest brings, 200 

'Twere sweet, ere yet his terrors rave, 

To sit upon the Wizard's grave,^ 

That Wizard Priest's whose bones are thrust 

From company of holy dust ; 

On which no sunbeam ever shines — 205 

So superstition's creed divines — 

Thence view the lake with sullen roar 

Heave her broad billows to the shore ; 

And mark the wild-swans mount the gale. 

Spread wide through mist their snowy sail, 210 

And ever stoop again, to lave 

Their bosoms on the surging wave ; 

Then, when against the driving hail 

No longer might my plaid ^ avail, 

Back to my lonely home retire, 215 

And light my lamp and trim my fire ; 

There ponder o'er some mystic lay. 

Till the wild tale had all its sway, 

And, in the bittern's ^ distant shriek, 

I heard unearthly voices speak, 220 

And thought the Wizard Priest was come 



ter of Philip Scott of Dryhope Tower, or to Mary Lilias Scott, the last of 
another family of Scotts; both were called " the Flower of Yarrow." 

1 Wizard's grave: in a burial ground near Our Lady's Chapel (see note 
1, page 52) is the grave of a priest who was popularly believed to have been 
a wizard. 

2 Plaid: the checked, shawl-like garment which forms a prominent part 
of the costume of the Highlanders of Scotland. 

^ Bittern : a wading bird, a kind of heron. 



54 MARMION. 

To claim again his ancient home ! 

And bade my busy fancy range, 

To frame him fitting shape and strange, 

Till from the task my brow I cleared, 225 

And smiled to think that I had feared. 

But chief 'twere sweet to think such life — r 
Though but escajDC from fortune's strife — 
Something most matchless good and wise, 
A great and grateful sacrifice, 230 

And deem each hour to musing given 
A step upon the road to heaven. 

Yet him whose heart is ill at ease 
Such peaceful solitudes displease ; 
He loves to drown his bosom's jar 235 

Amid the elemental war : 
And my black Palmer's choice had been 
Some ruder and more savage scene. 
Like that which frowns round dark Loch-skene.^ 
There eagles scream from isle to shore ; 240 

Down all the rocks the torrents roar ; 
O'er the black waves incessant driven, 
Dark mists infect the summer heaven ; 
Through the rude barriers of the lake, 
Away its hurrying waters break, 245 

Faster and whiter dash and curl. 
Till down yon dark abyss they hurl. 
Rises the fog-smoke white as snow. 
Thunders the viewless stream below, 

1 Loch-skene : a wild mountain lake near the source of the river Yar- 
row, in Dumfries-shire. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO II. 55 

Diving, as if condemned to lave 250 

Some demon's subterranean cave, 

Who, prisoned by enchanter's spell, 

Shakes the dark rock with groan and yell. 

And well that Palmer's form and mien 

Had suited with the stormy scene, 255 

Just on the edge, straining his ken ^ 

To view the bottom of the den, 

Where, deep deep down, and far within. 

Toils with the rocks the roaring linn ; 2 

Then, issuing forth one foamy wave, 260 

And wheeling round the Giant's Grave,^ 

White as the snowy charger's tail. 

Drives down the pass of Moffatdale. 

Harriot, thy harp, on Isis * strung. 
To many a Border theme has rung : 265 

Then list to me, and thou shalt know 
Of this mysterious Man of Woe. 

iKen: sight. 

2 Linn: here, a cataract. 

3 Giant's Grave : a trench, bearing that name, near the foot of the 
cataract. 

* Isis: here, in the sense of Oxford, which is on the Isis or upper Thames. 



THE CONVENT. 
I. 

The breeze which swept away the smoke 

Round Norham Castle rolled, 
When all the loud artillery spoke 
With lightning-flash and thunder-stroke, 

As Marmion left the hold, — 5 

It curled not Tweed alone, that breeze, 
For, far upon Northumbrian seas,^ 

It freshly blew and strong. 
Where, from high Whitby's cloistered pile,^ 
Bound to Saint Cuthbert's Holy Isle,^ lo 

It bore a bark along. 
Upon the gale she stooped her side, 
And bounded o'er the swelling tide, 

As she were dancing home ; 
The merry seamen laughed to see 15 

Their gallant ship so lustily 

Furrow the green sea-foam. 
Much joyed they in their honored freight ; 

1 Northumbrian seas : the North Sea washes the coast of Northumber- 
land, England. 

2 Cloistered pile : the abbey of Whitby on the coast of Yorkshire; clois- 
tered, furnished with cloisters or covered walks, they usually surround the 
four sides of a quadrangle or court. 

8 Saint Cuthbert's Holy Isle (see note 1, page 31). 

(56) 



) II. THE CONVENT. 57 

For on the deck, in chair of state, 

The Abbess of Saint Hilda ^ placed, 20 

With five fair nuns, the galley ^ graced. 



II. 

'Twas sweet to see these holy maids, 
Like birds escaped to greenwood shades. 

Their first flight from the cage. 
How timid, and how curious too, 25 

For all to them was strange and new, 
And all the common sights they view 

Their wonderment engage. 
One eyed the shrouds ^ and swelling sail, 

With many a benedicite ; * 30 

One at the rippling surge grew pale, 

And would for terror pray, 
Then shrieked because the sea-dog ^ nigh 
His round black head and sparkling eye 

Reared o'er the foaming spray ; 35 

And one would still adjust her veil. 
Disordered by the summer gale, 
Perchance lest some more worldly eye 
Her dedicated ^ charms might spy. 
Perchance because such action graced 40 

1 Abbess of Saint Hilda : Whitby Abbey contained both monks and 
nims ; the abbess was, in this case, the head of the whole monastery. 

2 Galley : a vessel which may be propelled by oars, but which usually 
(as in this case), had sails, on which it mainly depended. 

3 Shrouds : large ropes supporting the masts. 

4 Benedicite : the first word of a Latin prayer, here used as an excla- 
mation, — Bless us ! s Sea-dog : the seal. 

*^ Dedicated : meaning devoted to religion, withdrawn from the world. 



58 MARMION. CANTO II. 

Her fair-turned arm and slender waist. 
Light was each simple bosom there, 
Save two, who ill might pleasure share, — 
The Abbess and the Novice ^ Clare. 



III. 

The Abbess was of noble blood, 45 

But early took the veil ^ and hood. 
Ere upon life she cast a look, 
Or knew the world that she forsook. 
Fair too she was, and kind had been 
. As she was fair, but ne'er had seen 50 

For her a timid lover sigh. 
Nor knew the influence of her eye. 
Love to her ear was but a name, 
Combined with vanity and shame ; 
Her hopes, her fears, her joys, were all 55 

Bounded within the cloister wall ; 
The deadliest sin her mind could reach 
Was of monastic rule the breach, 
And her ambition's highest aim 
To emulate Saint Hilda's fame. 60 

For this she gave her ample dower 
To raise the convent's eastern tower ; 
For this, with carving rare and quaint, 
She decked the chapel of the saint, 
And gave the relic-shrine ^ of cost, 65 

1 Novice : one that has entered a monastery, but has not taken the vow. 

2 Veil : the nun's veil and hood taken by a woman on entering a convent. 
2 Helic-shrine : the shrine containing the remains or relics of the saint 

to whose memory the monastery was consecrated. 



CANTO II. 



THE CONVENT. 69 



With ivery and gems embossed. 
The poor her convent's bounty blest, 
The pilgrim in its halls found rest. 



IV. 

Black was her garb, her rigid rule 

Reformed on Benedictine school ; ^ 70 

Her cheek was pale, her form was spare ; 

Vigils and penitence austere 

Had early quenched the light of youth : 

But gentle was the dame, in sooth ; 

Though, vain of her religious sway, 75 

She loved to see her maids obey. 

Yet nothing stern was she in cell. 

And the nuns loved their Abbess well. 

Sad was this voyage to the dame ; 

Summoned to Lindisfarne, she came, 80 

There, with Saint Cuthbert's Abbot old 

And Tynemouth's Prioress,^ to hold 

A chapter ^ of Saint Benedict, 

For inquisition stern and strict 

On two apostates * from the faith, 85 

And, if need were, to doom to death. 

1 Benedictine school: the monastic rules originally imposed by St. 
Benedict, wbich required the time to be divided between meditation, relig- 
ious services, and useful employment. The motto of the order was Pray 
and Labor. It was founded in Italy about 530 a.d. by St. Benedict, and 
introduced into England about the year 600. 

2 Tynemouth's Prioress : the head of the monastery of Tynemouth, at 
the mouth of the river Tyne. 

3 Chapter : religious council or court. 

^Apostates: here, those who, without permission, have forsaken a 
monastery, and broken their religious vows. 



60 MARMION. 



V. 



CANTO II. 



Nought say I here of Sister Clare, 

Save this, that she was young and fair ; 

As yet a novice unprofessed,^ 

Lovely and gentle, but distressed. 90 

She was betrothed to one now dead, 

Or worse, who had dishonored fled. 

Her kinsmen bade her give her hand 

To one who loved her for her land ; 

Herself, almost heart-broken now, 95 

Was bent to take the vestal vow,^ 

And shroud within St. Hilda's gloom 

Her blasted hopes and withered bloom. 

VIo 

She sate upon the galley's prow, 

And seemed to mark the waves below ; 100 

Nay, seemed so fixed her look and eye. 

To count them as they glided by. 

She saw them not — 'twas seeming all — 

Far other scene her thoughts recall, — 

A sun-scorched desert, waste and bare, 105 

Nor waves nor breezes murmured there ; 

There saw she where some careless hand 

O'er a dead corpse had heaped the sand, 

To hide it till the jackals ^ come 

To tear it from the scanty tomb. — no 

1 Unprofessed : not having publicly embraced the life of a nun. 

2 Vestal vow : the vow of a virgin devoting herself entirely to the mo- 
nastic life. 

3 Jackals : wild beasts which feed on the carcasses of animals and rem- 
nants of the lion's prey. 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 61 

See what a woful look was given, 
As she raised up her eyes to heaven ! 

VII. 

Lovely, and gentle, and distressed — 

These charms might tame the fiercest breast : 

Harpers have sung and poets told 115 

That he, in fury uncontrolled. 

The shaggy monarch ^ of the wood, 

Before a virgin, fair and good. 

Hath pacified his savage mood. 

But passions in the human frame 120 

Oft put the lion's rage to shame ; 

And jealousy, by dark intrigue, 

With sordid avarice in league. 

Had practised with their bowl ^ and knife 

Against the mourner's harmless life. 125 

This crime was charged 'gainst those who lay 

Prisoned in Cuthbert's islet gray. 

vin. 

And now the vessel skirts the strand 

Of mountainous Northumberland ; 

Towns, towers, and halls successive rise, 130 

And catch the nuns' delighted eyes. 

Monk-Wearmouth ^ soon behind them lay, 

1 Shaggy monarcli: the lion (see Spenser's story of Una and the Lion, 
in the Faerie Queene). 

2 Bowl: here, poison. 

3 Monk-Wearmouth : a monastery at the mouth of the river Wear. All 
the places named below are on the coast of the North Sea, between Whitby, 
Yorkshire, and Holy Island, off Northumberland. 



62 MARMION. 



CANTO II. 



And Tynemouth's priory and bay ; 

They marked amid her trees the hall 

Of lofty Seaton-Delaval ; ^ 135 

They saw the Blythe and Wansbeck ^ floods 

Rush to the sea through sounding woods ; 

They passed the tower of Widderington,^ 

Mother of many a valiant son ; 

At Coquet-isle ^ their beads they tell ^ 140 

To the good saint who owned the cell ; 

Then did the Alne ^ attention claim, 

And Warkworth," proud of Percy's name ; 

And next they crossed themselves to hear 

The whitening breakers sound so near, 145 

Where, boiling through the rocks, they roar 

On Dunstanborough's ^ caverned shore ; 

Thy tower, proud Bamborough,^ marked they there, 

King Ida's castle, huge and square. 

From its tall rock look grimly down, 150 

And on the swelling ocean frown ; 

Then from the coast they bore away. 

And reached the Holy Island's bay. 

' Seaton-Delaval: the residence of the Delaval family. 

2 Blythe and Wansbeck; rivers of Northumberland emptying into the 
North Sea. 

3 Widderington : Widderington Church. 

4 Coquet-isle : an island near the mouth of the Coquet River, 
s Tell : count in prayer. 

6 Alne : a river north of the Coquet. 

"^ Warkwortb : Warkworth Castle, the property of the Percy family. 
It is on the Ahie. 

8 Dunstanborougb : a castle of this name on the coast of Northum- 
berland. 

9 Bamborough : Bamborough Castle within sight of Holy Island. It is 
one of the oldest castles in Great Britain. It crowns a rock rising 150 feet 
above the sea, and is accessible only on the southeast. 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 63 

IX. 

The tide did now its flood-mark gain, 

And girdled in the Saint's domain; 155 

For, with the flow and ebb, its style 

Varies from continent to isle ; 

Dry shod, o'er sands, twice every day 

The pilgrims to the shrine find way ; 

Twice every day the waves efface 160 

Of staves and sandalled feet the trace. 

As to the port the galley flew, 

Higher and higher rose to view 

The castle with its battled walls. 

The ancient monastery's halls, 165 

A solemn, huge, and dark-red pile, 

Placed on the margin of the isle. 

X. 

In Saxon ^ strength that abbey frowned, 
With massive arches broad and round. 

That rose alternate, row and row, 170 

On ponderous columns, short and low, 

Built ere the art was known, 
By pointed aisle and shafted stalk 2 
The arcades ^ of an alleyed walk 

To emulate in stone. 175 

1 Saxon : meaning Saxon architecture, or that which prevailed in Eng- 
land before the Norman Conquest, in 1066. 

2 Stalk: here, a column made up of several shafts; an example of the 
pointed or Gothic architecture which was introduced about the last of the 
twelfth century. 

3 Arcades : a series of arches supported on columns ; here, the compari- 
son is to the arched branches of trees, which some suppose first suggested 
architectural arcades. 



64 MARMION. CAMO II. 

On the deep walls the heathen Dane ^ 

Had poured his impious rage in vain ; 

And needful was such strength to these, 

Exposed to the tempestuous seas, 

Scourged by the winds' eternal sway, i8o 

Open to rovers fierce as they. 

Which could twelve hundred years withstand 

Winds, waves, and northern pirates' hand. 

Not but that portions of the pile, 

Rebuilded in a later style, 185 

Showed where the spoiler's hand had been ; 

Not but the wasting sea-breeze keen 

Had worn the pillar's carving quaint. 

And moulded in his niche the saint,^ 

And rounded with consuming power 190 

The pointed angles of each tower ; 

Yet still entire the abbey stood. 

Like veteran, worn, but unsubdued. 



XI. 

Soon as they neared his turrets strong, 

The maidens raised St. Hilda's song, 195 

And with the sea-wave and the wind 

Their voices, sweetly shrill, combined. 

And made harmonious close ; 
Then, answering from the sandy shore. 
Half-drowned amid the breakers' roar, 200 

1 Dane: the Danish " rovers " or pirates^ravaged the northeastern coasts 
of England from the eighth down to the eleventh century. 

2 The saint : images of saints were placed in niches as architectural 
decorations. 



xn. 



205 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 65 

According^ chorus rose: 
Down to the haven of the Isle 
The monks and nuns in order file 

From Cuthbert's cloisters grim ; 
Banner, and cross, and relics there, 
To meet St. Hilda's maids, they bare ; 
And, as they caught the sounds on air, 

They echoed back the hymn. 
The islanders in joyous mood 
Rushed emulously through the flood 210 

To hale 2 the bark to land ; 
Conspicuous by her veil and hood. 
Signing the cross, the Abbess stood, 

And blessed them with her hand. 



Suppose we now the welcome said, 215 

Suppose the convent banquet made : 

All through the holy dome. 
Through cloister, aisle, and gallery, 
Wherever vestal maid might pry. 
Nor risk to meet unhallowed eye, 220 

The stranger sisters roam ; 
Till fell the evening damp with dew. 
And the sharp sea-breeze coldly blew, 
For there even summer night is chill. 
Then, having strayed and gazed their fill, 225 

They closed around the fu^e ; 
And all, in turn, essayed to paint 

1 According : harmonious. 2 Hale : haul. 



QQ MARMION. canto ii. 

The rival merits of their saint, 
A theme that ne'er can tire 
A holy maid, for be it known 230 

That their saint's honor is their own. 



XIII. 

Then Whitby's nuns exulting told 
How to their house three barons ^ bold 

Must menial service do. 
While horns blow out a note of shame, 235 

And monks cry, ' Fie upon your name ! 
In wrath, for loss of sylvan game, 

Saint Hilda's priest ye slew.' — 
' This, on Ascension-day ,2 each year. 
While laboring on our harbor-pier, 240 

Must Herbert, Bruce, and Percy hear.' — 
They told how in their convent-cell 
A Saxon princess once did dwell, 

The lovely Edelfled; 3 
And how, of thousand snakes, each one 245 

Was changed into a coil of stone * 

1 Three barons : three barons, while hunting on the grounds of the Ab- 
bot of Whitby, wounded a religious hermit — "Saint Hilda's priest"; as 
a punishment, they were obliged to cut a certain quantity of wood on 
Ascension-day (Acts i. 1-11), the fortieth day after Easter, of each year, 
and carry it to Whitby on their backs amid the cries and jeers of the 
monks. 

2 Ascension-day : see note above, on Three barons. 

3 Edelfled : a Saxon king (655) , out of gratitude for a great victory, 
"dedicated Edelfleda," his infant daughter, to the service of God in the 
monastery of Whitby, of which St. Hildawas then abbess. 

4 Coil of stone : these coils of stone, once supposed to be petrified snakes, 
are still found in the rocks about Whitby. They are the fossil shells of the 
Ammonite, a creature resembling the nautilus. 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 67 

When holy Hilda prayed ; 
Themselves, within their holy bound, 
Their stony folds had often found, 
They told how sea-fowls' pinions fail,^ 250 

As over Whitby's towers they sail, 
And, sinking down, with flutterings faint. 
They do their homage to the saint. 

XIV. 

Nor did Saint Cuthbert's daughters fail 

To vie with these in holy tale ; 255 

His body's resting-place, of old. 

How oft their patron changed,^ they told ; 

How, when the rude Dane burned their pile. 

The monks fled forth from Holy Isle ; 

O'er Northern mountain, marsh, and moor, 260 

From sea to sea, from shore to shore. 

Seven years Saint Cuthbert's corpse they bore. 

They rested them in fair Melrose ; 
But though, alive, he loved it well, 

Not there his relics might repose ; 265 

For, wondrous tale to tell ! 

In his stone coffin forth he rides, 

A ponderous bark for river tides, 

1 Fail : it is said that great numbers of gulls and other birds, after a 
long flight over the waters, stop to rest at Whitby ; this appears to have 
given rise to the belief that the birds paused to do " homage to the saint." 

2 Changed : Scott states that St. Cuthbert's body was carried about by 
monks for many years. They halted with it for a longer or shorter time at 
Norham, Melrose Abbey (Scotland), and various other places. At length 
the remains of the saint were secretly buried at Durham. " His last rest- 
ing-place," says Lockhart, '* is now known to be in a grave under the choir 
of Durham Cathedral." 



68 MARMION. CANTO II. 

Yet light as gossamer it glides 

Downward to Tilmouth cell.^ 270 

Nor long was his abiding there, 
For southward did the saint repair ; 
Chester-le-Street ^ and Ripon ^ saw 
His holy corpse ere Wardilaw * 

Hailed him with joy and fear ; 275 

And, after many wanderings past, 
He chose his lordly seat at last 
Where his cathedral, huge and vast. 

Looks down upon the Wear.^ 
There, deep in Durham's Gothic shade, 280 

His relics are in secret laid ; 

But none may know the place, 
Save of his holiest servants three, 
Deep sworn to solemn secrecy, 

Who share that wondrous grace. 285 

XV. 

Who may his miracles declare ? 

Even Scotland's dauntless king and heir — ^ 

Although with them they led 
Galwegians,^ wild as ocean's gale, 

1 Tilmouth : the mouth of the river Till (a branch of the Tweed) in 
Northumberland. 

2 Chester-le-Street : a village of Durham County. 

3 Kipon : a city of Yorkshire. 

4 Wardilaw : a village near the city of Durham. 

5 Tiie Wear: the river of that name on which Durham is situated. 

6 King and heir: David I., with his son and heir, Henry, invaded Eng- 
land, in 1137, with a great host; but the English — thanks, it was said, to 
the holy banner of St. Cuthbert, with those of other saints — gained a de- 
cisive victory at Northallerton, Northumberland. 

' Galwegians : inhabitants of southwestern Scotland. 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 69 

And Loden's knights,^ all sheathed in mail, 290 

And the bold men of Teviotdale — ^ 

Before his standard ^ fled. 
'Twas he, to vindicate his reign. 
Edged Alfred's * falchion on the Dane, 
And turned the Conqueror ^ back again, 295 

When, with his Norman bowyer ^ band, 
He came to waste Northumberland. 

XVI. 

But fain St. Hilda's nuns would learn 

If on a rock, by Lindisfarne, 

Saint Cuthbert sits, and toils to frame 300 

The sea-born beads '' that bear his name : 

Such tales had Whitby's fishers told. 

And said they might his shape behold. 

And hear his anvil sound ; 
A deadened clang, — a huge dim form, 305 

Seen but, and heard, when gathering storm 

And night were closing round. 
But this, as tale of idle fame, 
The nuns of Lisdisfarne disclaim. 

1 Loden's : this seems to be a poetical form of Lothian's; the name given 
to a division of the country around Edinburgh. It comprises the shires or 
counties of Haddington, Edinburgh, and Linlithgow. 

2 Teviotdale : the valley of the river Teviot in southeastern Scotland. 

3 Standard : referring to the banner of St. Cuthbert. 

4 Alfred: a legend reports St. Cuthbert as appearing to King Alfred of 
England in a vision and promising him help to overcome the Danish invaders. 

5 Conqueror : William the Conqueror. 

6 Bowyer : archer. 

'^ Beads : small, perforated fossil lily stems (stone lilies) resembling 
beads, found in abundance at Holy Island and its vicinity ; they are called 
" St. Cuthbert's beads." 



70 MARMION. 



CANTO II. 



XVII.. 

While round the fire such legends go, 310 

Far different was the scene of woe 
Where, in a secret aisle beneath. 
Council was held of life and death. 

It was more dark and lone, that vault, 

Than the worst dungeon cell; 315 

Old Colwulf 1 built it, for his fault 
In penitence to dwell. 
When he for cowl and beads laid down 
The Saxon battle-axe and crown. 
This den, which, chilling every sense 320 

Of feeling, hearing, sight. 
Was called the Vault of Penitence, 

Excluding air and light. 
Was by the prelate 2 Sexhelm made 
A place of burial for such dead 
As, having died in mortal sin,^ 
Might not be laid the church within. 
'Twas now a place of punishment ; 
Whence, if so loud a shriek were sent 

As reached the upper air, 330 

The hearers blessed themselves, and said 
The spirits of the sinful dead 

Bemoaned their torments there. 

XVIII. 

But though, in the monastic pile, 

Did of this penitential aisle^ 335 

1 Old Colwulf : King of Northumberland in the eighth century. 

2 Prelate : a high dignitary of the church. 

3 Mortal sin : in Roman Catholic belief, soul-destroying sin. 



325 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 71 

Some vague tradition go, 
Few only, save the Abbot, knew 
Where the place lay, and still more few 
Were those who had from him the clew 

To that dread vault to go. 340 

Victim and executioner 
Were blindfold when transported there. 
In low dark rounds the arches hung. 
From the rude rock the side-walls sprung ; 
The gravestones, rudely sculptured o'er, 345 

Half sunk in earth, by time half wore, 
Were all the pavement of the floor ; 
The mildew-drops fell one by one. 
With tinkling plash, upon the stone. 
A cresset,^ in an iron chain, 350 

Which served to light this drear domain. 
With damp and darkness seemed to strive, 
As if it scarce might keep alive ; 
And yet it dimly served to show 
The awful conclave ^ met below. 355 

XIX. 

There, met to doom in secrecy. 

Were placed the heads of convents three, 

All servants of Saint Benedict, 

The statutes of whose order strict 

On iron table lay ; 360 

In long black dress, on seats of stone. 
Behind were these three judges shown 

1 Cresset : a fixed candlestick or antique chandelier. 

2 Conclave : a private meeting or assembly. 



72 MARMION. 



CANTO II. 



By the pale cresset's ray. 
The Abbess of Saint Hilda's there 
Sat for a space with visage bare, 365 

Until, to hide her bosom's swell. 
And tear-drops that for pity fell. 

She closely drew her veil ; 
Yon shrouded figure, as I guess. 
By her proud mien and flowing dress, 370 

Is Tynemouth's haughty Prioress, 

And she with awe looks pale ; 
And he, that ancient man, whose sight 
Has long been quenched by age's night. 
Upon whose wrinkled brow alone 375 

Nor ruth,i nor mercy's trace is shown. 

Whose look is hard and stern, — 
Saint Cuthbert's Abbot is his style. 
For sanctity called through the isle 

The Saint of Lindisfarne. 380 



XX. 

Before them stood a guilty pair; 

But, though an equal fate they share. 

Yet one alone deserves our care. 

Her sex a page's dress belied ; ^ 

The cloak and doublet, loosely tied, 385 

Obscured her charms, but could not hide. 

Her cap down o'er her face she drew ; 
And, on her doublet breast. 

She tried to hide the l)adge of blue, 

iRuth: pity. 

2 Belied : contradicted or rendered false ; here, concealed. 



CANTO 11. THE CONVENT. 73 

Lord Marmion's falcon crest.^ 390 

But, at the prioress' command, 
A monk undid the silken band 

That tied her tresses fair. 
And raised the bonnet from her head. 
And down her slender form they spread 395 

In ringlets rich and rare. 
Constance de Beverley ^ they know, 
Sister professed of Fontevraud,^ 
Whom the Church numbered with the dead, 
For broken vows and convent fled. 400 

XXI. 

When thus her face was given to view, — 

Although so pallid was her hue. 

It did a ghastly contrast bear 

To those bright ringlets glistering * fair, — 

Her look composed, and steady eye, 405 

Bespoke a matchless constancy ; 

And there she stood so calm and pale 

That, but her breathing did not fail. 

And motion slight of eye and head. 

And of her bosom, warranted 410 

That neither sense nor pulse she lacks. 

You might have thought a form of wax. 

Wrought to the very life was there ; 

So still she was, so pale, so fair. 

1 Falcon crest (see Canto I., vi). 

2 Constance de Beverley : Marmion's page (see note 3, page 29, and 
note 1, page 30). 

3 Fontevraud : an abbey of France, near Saumur, valley of the Loire. 
■* Glistering : shining, glistening. 



74 MARMION. CANTO II. 

XXII. 

Her comrade was a sordid soul, 415 

Such as does murder for a meed ; 
Who, but of fear, knows no control, 
Because his conscience, seared and foul, 

Feels not the imjDort of his deed ; 
One whose brute-feeling ne'er aspires 420 

Beyond his own more brute desires. 
Such tools the Tempter ever needs 
To do the savagest of deeds ; 
For them no visioned terrors daunt, 
Their nights no fancied spectres haunt ; 425 

One fear with them, of all most base. 
The fear of death, alone finds place. 
This wretch was clad in frock and cowl. 
And shamed not loud to moan and howl. 
His body on the floor to dash, 430 

And crouch, like hound beneath the lash ; 
While his mute partner, standing near. 
Waited her doom without a tear. 

XXIII. 

Yet well the luckless wretch might shriek. 

Well might her paleness terror speak I 435 

For there were seen in that dark wall 

Two niches, narrow, deep, and tall ; — 

Who enters at such grisly ^ door 

Shall ne'er, I ween, find exit more. 

In each a slender meal \tas^ laid, 440 

Of roots, of water, and of bread ; 

1 Grisly : grim, terrible. 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 75 

By each, in Benedictine dress, 

Two haggard monks stood motionless. 

Who, holding high a blazing torch, 

Showed the grim entrance of the porch ; 445 

Reflecting back the smok}^ beam, 

The dark-red walls and arches gleam. 

Hewn stones and cement were displayed, 

And building tools in order laid. 

XXIV. 

These executioners were chose 450 

As men who were with mankind foes, 
And, with despite ^ and envy fired. 
Into the cloister had retired, 

Or who, in desperate doubt of grace, 

Strove by deep penance to efface 455 

Of some foul crime the stain ; 

For, as the vassals of her will. 

Such men the Church selected still 

As either joyed in doing ill, 

Or thought more grace to gain 460 

If in her cause they Avrestled down 
Feelings their nature strove to own. 
By strange device were they brought there. 
They knew not how, and knew not where. 



XXV. 

And now that blind old abbot rose, 465 

To speak the Chapter's doom 

1 Despite : hatred. 



76 MARMION. CANTO II. 

On those the wall was to enclose 

Alive within the tomb, 
But stopped because that woful maid, 
Gathering her powers, to speak essayed ; 470 

Twice she essayed, and twice in vain. 
Her accents might no utterance gain ; 
Nought but imperfect murmurs slip 
From her convulsed and quivering lip, 

'Twixt each attempt all Avas so still, 475 

You seemed to hear a distant rill — 

'Twas ocean's swells and falls ; 
For though this vault of sin and fear 
Was to the sounding surge so near, 
A tempest there you scarce could hear, 480 

So massive were the walls. 

XXVI. 

At length, an effort sent apart 
The blood that curdled to her heart. 

And light came to her eye, 
And color dawned upon her cheek, 485 

A hectic ^ and a fluttered streak, 
Like that left on the Cheviot peak 

By autumn's stormy sky; 
And when her silence broke at length. 
Still as she spoke she gathered strength, 490 

And armed herself to bear. 
It was a fearful sight to see 
Such high resolve and Constancy 

In form so soft and fair. 

1 Hectic : feverish, excited. 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 77 

XXVII. 

' I speak not to implore your grace^ 495 

Well know I for one minute's space 

Successless might I sue : 
Nor do I speak your prayers to gain ; 
For if a death of lingering pain 
To cleanse my sins be penance vain, 500 

Vain are your masses ^ too. — 
I listened to a traitor's tale, 
I left the convent and the veil ; 
For three long years I bowed my pride, 
A horse-boy in his train to ride ; 505 

And well my folly's meed he gave, 
Who forfeited, to be his slave, 
All here, and all beyond the grave. 
He saw young Clara's face more fair. 
He knew her of broad lands the heir, 510 

Forgot his vows, his faith forswore. 
And Constance was beloved no more. 

'T is an old tale, and often told ; 
But did my fate and wish agree. 

Ne'er had been read, in story old, 515 

Of maiden true betraj^ed for gold. 
That loved, or was avenged, like me ! 

XXVIII. 

' The king approved his favorite's aim ; 
In vain a rival barred his claim, 

Whose fate with Clare's was plight,^ 520 

1 Masses : here, religious services held in behalf of a person after death. 

2 Plight : plighted, pledged. 



78 MARMION. 



CANTO II. 



For he attaints ^ that rival's fame 

With treason's charge — and on they came 

In mortal lists to fight. 
Their oaths ^ are said, 

Their prayers are prayed, 525 

Their lances in the rest ^ are laid. 

They meet in mortal shock ; 
And hark ! the throng, with thundering cry. 
Shout " Marmion, Marmion ! to the sky, 

De Wilton to the block ! " 530 

Say, ye who preach Heaven shall decide 
When in the lists two champions ride, 

Say, was Heaven's justice here ? 
When, loyal in his love and faith, 
Wilton found overthrow or death 535 

Beneath a traitor's spear ? 
How false the charge, how true he fell. 
This guilty packet best can tell.' 
Then drew a packet from her breast, 
Paused, gathered voice, and spake the rest. 540 

XXIX. 

' Still was false Marmion's bridal stayed ; 
To Whitby's convent fled the maid, 

The hated match to shun. 
" Ho ! shifts she thus ? " King Henry cried, 
" Sir Marmion, she shall be thy bride, 545 

1 Attaints : stains, disgraces. 

2 Oaths : before the fight each of the coinbatants swore that his cause 
was true and just. 

3 In the rest : the combatants during battle lield the butt-end of their 
lances in a socket or " rest " of their armor. 



550 



CANTO II. THE CONVENT. 79 

If she were sworn a nun." 
One way remained — the king's command 
Sent Marmion to the Scottish land ; 
I lingered here, and rescue planned 

For Clara and for me : 
This caitiff ^ monk for gold did swear 
He would to Whitby's shrine repair, 
And by his drugs my rival fair 

A saint in heaven should be ; 
But ill the dastard kept his oath, 555 

Whose cowardice hath undone us both. 



XXX. 

' And now my tongue the secret tells. 

Not that remorse my bosom swells, 

But to assure my soul that none 

Shall ever wed with Marmion. 560 

Had fortune my last hope betrayed, 

This packet to the king conveyed. 

Had given him to the headsman's stroke. 

Although my heart that instant broke. — 

Now, men of death, work forth your will, 565 

For I can suffer, and be still ; 

And come he slow, or come he fast, 

It is but Death who comes at last. 



XXXI. 

' Yet dread me from my living tomb. 

Ye vassal slaves of bloody Rome ! 570 

^ Caitiff : servile, base. 



80 MARMION. CANTO II. 

If Marmion's late remorse should wake, 

Full soon such vengeance will he take 

That you shall wish the fiery Dane 

Had rather been your guest again. 

Behind, a darker hour ascends ! 575 

The altars quake, the crosier ^ bends. 

The ire of a despotic king 2 

Rides forth upon destruction's wing ; 

Then shall these vaults, so strong and deep. 

Burst open to the sea-winds' sweep ; 580 

Some traveller then shall find my bones 

Whitening amid disjointed stones, 

And, ignorant of priests' cruelty. 

Marvel such relics here should be.' 



XXXII. 

Fixed was her look and stern her air : 585 

Back from her shoulders streamed her hair ; 

The locks that wont ^ her brow to shade 

Stared up erectly from her head ; 

Her figure seemed to rise more high ; 

Her voice despair's wild energy 590 

Had given a tone of prophecy. 

Appalled the astonished conclave sate ; 

With stupid eyes, the men of fate 

1 Crosier : an archbishop's staff surmounted by a cross. It is here used 
as an emblem of the highest power of the British Roman Catholic Church. 
Henry VIII. separated from that church, destroyed the monasteries (1535- 
1537), and was the means of establishing^ a national church independent of 
Rome ; later this church became entirely Protestant. 

2 Despotic king : Henry VIII. 

3 Wont : were wont, accustomed. 



CANTO II. 



THE CONVENT. 81 



Gazed on the light inspired form, 

And listened for the avenging storm ; 595 

The judges felt the victim's dread ; 

No hand was moved, no word was said, 
Till thus the abbot's doom was given, 

Raising his sightless balls to heaven : 

' Sister, let. thy sorrows cease ; 600 

Sinful brother, part in peace ! ' ^ 

From that dire dungeon, place of doom, 
Of execution too, and tomb, 

Paced forth the judges three ; 
Sorrow it were and shame to tell 605 

The butcher-work that there befell. 
When they had glided from the cell 
Of sin and misery. 

XXXIII. 

An hundred winding steps convey 

That conclave to the upper day ; 610 

But ere they breathed the fresher air 

They heard the shriekings of despair. 

And many a stifled groan : 
With speed their upward way they take, — 
Such speed as age and fear can make, — 615 

And crossed themselves for terror's sake. 

As hurrying, tottering on, 
Even in the vesper's ^ heavenly tone 
They seemed to hear a dying groan, 

1 Part in peace : Depart into the peace of the grave — a death sentence ; 
the words, " let thy sorrows cease," have the same meaning. 
- Vesper : the evening religious service. 



82 MARMION. CANTO II. 

And bade the passing knell ^ to toll 620 

For welfare of a parting soul. 

Slow o'er the midnight wave it swung, 

Northumbrian rocks in answer rung ; 

To Warkworth cell the echoes rolled, 

His beads the wakeful hermit told ; ^ 625 

The Bamborough peasant raised his head. 

But slept ere half a prayer he said ; 

So far was heard the mighty knell, 

The stag sprung up on Cheviot Fell,^ 

Spread his broad nostril to the wind, 630 

Listed before, aside, behind, 

Then couched him down beside the hind,* 

And quaked among the mountain fern. 

To hear that sound so dull and stern. 

1 Passing knell : it was customary to toll a bell at the hour of a person's 
death to protect the departing soul from the power of evil spirits. 

2 Told : counted (see note 5, page 62). 

3 Cheviot Fell : the highest peak of the Cheviot Hills, which at one point 
serve as a boundary between England and Scotland (see map). 

4 Hind : female deer. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO THIRD. 

To WILLIAM ERSKINE, Esq 

Ashestiel, Ettrich Forest. 

Like April morning clouds, that pass 

With varying shadow o'er the grass, 

A]id imitate on field and furrow 

Life's checkered scene of joy and sorrow ; 

Like streamlet of the mountain north, 5 

Now in a torrent racing forth, 

Now winding slow its silver train. 

And almost slumbering on the plain ; 

Like breezes of the autumn day. 

Whose voice inconstant dies away, lo 

And ever swells again as fast 

When the ear deems its murmur past ; 

Thus various, my romantic theme 

Flits, winds, or sinks, a morning dream. 

Yet pleased, our eye pursues the trace 15 

Of Light and Shade's inconstant race ; 

Pleased, views the rivulet afar. 

Weaving its maze irregular ; 

And pleased, we listen as the breeze 

Heaves its wild sigh through Autumn trees : 20 

Then, wild as cloud, or stream, or gale. 

Flow on, flow unconfined, my tale ! 

^ William Erskine, Esq. : an eminent Scottish lawyer and judge, and 
one of Sir Walter's most intimate friends. 

(•83) 



84 MARMION. 

Need I to thee, dear Erskine, tell 
I love the license all too well, 

In sounds now lowly, and now strong, 25 

To raise the desultory ^ song ? 
Oft, when mid such capricious chime 
Some transient fit of loftier rhyme 
To thy kind judgment seemed excuse 
For many an error of the muse, 30 

Oft hast thou said, ' If, still misspent. 
Thine hours to poetry are lent. 
Go, and to tame thy wandering course. 
Quaff from the fountain at the source ; 
Approach those masters o'er whose tomb 35 

Immortal laurels ever bloom : 
Instructive of the feebler bard, 
Still from the grave their voice is heard ; 
From them, and from the paths they showed. 
Choose honored guide and practised road ; 40 

Nor ramble on through brake and maze,^ 
With harpers rude of barbarous days. 

' Or deem'st thou not our later time 
Yields topic meet for classic rhyme ? 
Hast thou no elegiac verse ^ 45 

For Brunswick's * venerable hearse ? 
What ! not a line, a tear, a sigh. 
When valor bleeds for liberty ? — 

1 Desultory : rambling, unconnected. 

2 Maze : a confusing network of paths. 

3 Elegiac verse : belonging to elegy rorournful, plaintive. 

4 Brunswick : the Duke of Brunswick, a celebrated German general ; he 
commanded the Prussian array in 1800 at the battle of Jena, where he was 
defeated by Napoleon, and soon after died. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO III. 85 

Oh, hero of that glorious time, 

When, with unrivalled light sublime, — 50 

Though martial Austria, and though all 

The might of Russia, and the Gaul, 

Though banded Europe stood her foes — 

The star of Brandenburg ^ arose ! 

Thou couldst not live to see her beam 55 

Forever quenched in Jena's stream. 

Lamented chief ! — it was not given 

To thee to change the doom of Heaven, 

And crush that dragon ^ in its birth, 

Predestined scourge of guilty earth. 60 

Lamented chief I — not thine the power 

To save in that presumptuous hour 

When Prussia hurried to the field. 

And snatched the spear, but left the shield ! 

Valor and skill 'twas thine to try, 65 

And, tried in vain, 'twas thine to die. 

Ill had it seemed thy silver hair 

The last, the bitterest pang to share, 

For princedoms reft, and scutcheons riven, 

And birthrights to usurpers given ; 70 

Thy land's, thy children's wrongs to feel. 

And witness woes thou couldst not heal ! 

On thee relenting Heaven bestows 

For honored life an honored close ; 

And when revolves, in time's sure change, 75 



1 star of Brandenburg : Prussia, because a prince of Brandenburg — 
Frederick III. — became the first king of Prussia. When Scott wrote 
Marmion, not long after the Prussian defeat at Jena, it seemed to him 
that Prussia's star was " forever quenched in Jena's stream." 

- That dragon : Napoleon. 



86 MARMION. 

The hour of Germany's revenge, 

When, breathing fury for her sake. 

Some new Arminius ^ shall awake. 

Her champion, ere he strike, shall come 

To whet his sword on Brunswick's tomb. 80 

' Or of the Red-Cross hero ^ teach. 
Dauntless in dungeon as on breach.^ 
Alike to him the sea, the shore. 
The brand, the bridle, or the oar : 
Alike to him the war that calls 85 

Its votaries* to the shattered walls 
Which the grim Turk, besmeared with blood, 
Against the Invincible ^ made good ; ^ 
Or that whose thundering voice could wake 
The silence of the polar lake, 90 

When stubborn Russ^ and mettled ^ Swede 
On the warped ^ wave their death-game played ; 
Or that where Vengeance and Affright 
Howled round the father of the fight,io 

1 Arminius: Hermann, a German hero, called by the Romans, Arminius ; 
in the year 9 a.d. he rose against the Roman power, and succeeded for a 
time in delivering his country from its oppression. 

2 Red-Cross hero : Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, who, under the red cross 
of England's flag, and having the Turks as allies, repulsed Napoleon's 
attack on the fort of Saint Jean d'Acre, Syria. 

3 Breach : breach in the walls of a fort made by the assaulting party. 

4 Votaries : those wholly devoted to any purpose or service ; here, to 
war. ^ Invincible : Napoleon Bonaparte. 

6 Made good : made good, or held, " the shattered walls." 

7 Stubborn Russ : in the war between Russia and Sweden in 1790, Sir 
Sidney Smith (the " Red-Cross hero " mentioned above) entered the Swed- 
ish service. 

8 Mettled : brave, high-spirited. ^ Warped : frozen. 

10 Father of the fight : Sir Ralph Abercrombie, a distinguished British 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO III. 87 

Who snatched on Alexandria's sand 95 

The conqueror's wreath with dying hand. 

' Or, if to touch such chord ^ be thine, 
Restore the ancient tragic line, 
And emulate the notes that rung 
From the wild harp which silent hung 100 

By silver Avon's ^ holy shore 
Till twice an hundred years rolled o'er ; 
When she, the bold Enchantress,^ came. 
With fearless hand and heart on flame. 
From the pale willow snatched the treasure, 105 
And swept it with a kindred measure, 
Till Avon's swans, while rung the grove 
With Montfort's hate and Basil's love,* 
Awakening at the inspired strain. 
Deemed their own Shakespeare lived again.' no 

Thy friendship thus thy judgment wronging 
With praises not to me belonging. 
In task more meet for mightiest powers 
Wouldst thou engage my thriftless hours. 
But say, my Erskine, hast thou weighed 115 

general. He was mortally wounded in the battle of Alexandria, Egypt, in 
the war with Napoleon, 1801. 

1 Chord : the string of a harp, here used figuratively for tragic poetry. 

2 Avon: referring to Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. 

3 Enchantress : Joanna Bailie, who, two hundred years after Shake- 
speare, wrote plays and poems which, in the opinion of her friend, the 
author of Marmion, would compare with those of the great dramatist him- 
self. 

4 Montfort and Basil : De Montfort, a tragedy on hatred, and Basil, a 
tragedy on love, by Joanna Bailie. They were published anonymously in 
1798, and were then generally supposed to be from Scott's pen. 



88 MARMION. 

That secret power by all obeyed, 

Which warps not less the passive mind, 

Its source concealed or undefined ; 

Whether an impulse, that has birth 

Soon as the infant wakes on earth, 120 

One with our feelings and our powers, 

And rather part of us than ours ; 

Or whether fitlier termed the sway 

Of habit, formed in early day ? 

Howe'er derived, its force confessed 125 

Rules with despotic sway the breast. 

And drags us on by viewless chain, 

While taste and reason plead in vain. 

Look east, and ask the Belgian why. 

Beneath Batavia's ^ sultry sky, 130 

He seeks not eager to inhale 

The freshness of the mountain gale. 

Content to rear his whitened wall 

Beside the dank 2 and dull canal ? 

He'll say, from youth he loved to see 135 

The white sail gliding by the tree. 

Or see yon weather-beaten hind,^ 

Whose sluggish herds before him wind. 

Whose tattered plaid and rugged cheek 

His northern clime and kindred speak ; 140 

Through England's laughing meads * he goes. 

And England's wealth around him flows ; 

Ask if it would content him well, 

1 Batavia : the capital of the Dutch llastrlndies. 

2 Dank: damp. 

3 Hind : a peasant, a farm-laborer ; but here, a Highlander of Scotland. 

4 Meads : meadows. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO III. 89 

At ease in those gay plains to dwell, 

Where hedge-rows spread a verdant screen, 145 

And spires and forests intervene. 

And the neat cottage peeps between ? 

No ! not for these will he exchange 

His dark Lochaber's ^ boundless range, 

Not for fair Devon's ^ meads forsake 150 

Ben Nevis ^ gvnj and Garry's^ lake. 

Thus while I ape the measure wild 
Of tales that charmed me yet a child, 
Rude though they be, still with the chime 
Return the thoughts of early time ; 155 

And feelings, roused in life's first day, 
Glow in the line and prompt the lay. 
Then rise those crags, that mountain tower. 
Which charmed my fancy's wakening hour. 
Though no broad river swept along, 160 

To claim, perchance, heroic song. 
Though sighed no groves in summer gale. 
To prompt of love a softer tale. 
Though scarce a puny streamlet's speed 
Claimed homage from a shepherd's reed," 165 

Yet was poetic impulse given 
By the green hill and clear blue heaven. 

1 Lochaber's range : Lochaber is a wild, mountainous region of Inver- 
ness-shire, northwestern Scotland 

2 Devon: Devonshire in the southwest of England; it is generally re- 
markable for its fertility. 

3 Ben Nevis : the highest mountain of Britain ; it is in the Lochaber 
district. 

4 Garry's lake : a beautiful mountain-lake in Inverness, 
s Reed : a kind of flute. 



90 MARMION. 

It was a barren scene and wild, 

Where naked cliffs were rudely piled, 

But ever and anon,^ between 170 

Lay velvet tufts of loveliest green ; 

And well the lonely infant ^ knew 

Recesses where the wall-flower ^ grew. 

And honeysuckle loved to crawl 

Up the low crag and ruined wall. 175 

I deemed such nooks the sweetest shade 

The sun in all its round surveyed ; 

And still I thought that shattered tower 

The mightiest work of human power. 

And marvelled as the aged hind iSo 

With some strange tale bewitched my mind 

Of forayers, who with headlong force 

Down from that strength * had spurred their horse. 

Their southern rapine to renew 

Far in the distant Cheviots blue, 185 

And, home returning, filled the hall 

With revel, wassail-rout,^ and brawl. 

Methought that still with trump and clang 

The gateway's broken arches rang; 

Methought grim features, seamed with scars, 190 

1 Ever and anon : every now and then. 

2 The lonely infant : here, Scott refers to himself. " A fever in infancy 
rendered Walter lame, . . . and he was sent for recovery to his Grandfather 
Robert, at Sandy-Knowe [near Kelso, not far from the English border, and 
but a short distance from Dryburgh Abbey, where Sir Walter is buried]. 
From this place . . . dated his earliest recollections." — Palgrave's /Scoi^ 

3 Wall-flower : a beautiful yellow flower which, in its wild state, grows 
on old walls and stony places. 

4 Strength: stronghold; referring to the " shattered tower" of Sandy- 
Knowe. 

5 Wassail-rout : noisy festivity. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO III. 91 

Glared through the window's rusty bars, 

And ever, by the winter hearth, 

Old tales I heard of woe or mirth, 

Of lovers' sleights,^ of ladies' charms, 

Of witches' spells, of warriors' arms ; 195 

Of patriot battles, won of old 

By Wallace wight and Bruce ^ the bold ; 

Of later fields of feud and fight. 

When, pouring from their Highland height. 

The Scottish clans in headlong SAvay 200 

Had swept the scarlet ranks ^ away. 

While stretched at length upon the floor. 

Again I fought each combat o'er, 

Pebbles and shells, in order laid. 

The mimic ranks of war displayed ; 205 

And onward still the Scottish Lion ^ bore. 

And still the scattered Southron ^ fled before. 

Still, with vain fondness, could I trace 
Anew each kind familiar face 

That brightened at our evening fire ! 210 

From the thatched ^ mansion's gray-haired sire,*" 
Wise without learning, plain and good, 

1 Sleights : stratagems. 

2 Bruce : a Scottish hero and king who joined Wallace (see note 4, page 
49) in resistance to the aggressions of England. He gained the great victory 
of Bannockburn in 1314, and eventually gained the recognition of the inde- 
pendence of Scotland. 

3 Scarlet ranks : the t^nglish with their scarlet uniforms. 

4 Scottish Lion : the lion formerly represented on the arms and banners 
of Scotland. 

5 Southron: the English, from their position south of Scotland. 

6 Thatched: covered with a roof of straw or reeds. 

^ Gray-haired sire : Robert Scott, Sir Walter's grandfather. 



92 MARMION. 

And sprung of Scotland's gentler blood ; 

Whose eye in age, quick, clear, and keen, 

Showed what in youth its glance had been ; 215 

Whose doom ^ discording neighbors sought. 

Content with equity unbought ; 

To him the venerable priest. 

Our frequent and familiar guest, 

Whose life and manners well could paint 220 

Alike the student and the saint, 

Alas ! whose speech too oft I broke 

With gambol rude and timeless ^ joke : 

For I was w\ayward, bold, and wild, 

A self-willed imp, a grandame's child,^ 225 

But half a plague, and half a jest. 

Was still endured, beloved, caressed. 



From me, thus nurtured, dost thou ask 
The classic poet's well-conned * task ? 
Nay, Erskine, nay — on the wild hill 230 

Let the wild heath-bell flourish still ; 
Cherish the tulip, prune the vine, 
But freely let the woodbine twine. 
And leave untrimmed the eglantine : 
Nay, my friend, nay — since oft thy praise 235 

Hath given fresh vigor to my lays. 
Since oft thy judgment could refine 
My flattened thought or cumbrous line. 



1 Doom: judgment, decisionr~ " 

2 Timeless : unseasonable ; done at an improper time. 

3 Grandame's child: a spoiled child. 

4 Well-conned : carefully studied. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO III. 93 

Still kind, as is thy wont, attend, 

And in the minstrel spare the friend. 240 

Though wild as cloud, as stream, as gale, 

Flow forth, flow unrestrained, my tale ! 



THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 



The livelong ^ day Lord Marmion rode ; 

The mountain path the Palmer showed 

By glen and streamlet winded still, 

Where stunted birches hid the rill. 

They might not choose the lowland road, 5 

For the Merse ^ forayers were abroad, 

Who, fired with hate and thirst of prey, 

Had scarcely failed to bar the way. 

Oft on the trampling band from crown 

Of some tall cliff the deer looked down ; 10 

On wing of jet from his repose 

In the deep heath the blackcock rose ; 

Sprung from the gorse ^ the timid roe, 

Nor waited for the bending bow ; 

And when the stony path began 15 

By which the naked peak they wan,^ 

Up flew the snowy ptarmigan.^ 

1 Livelong : entire. 

2 Merse : a part of Southern Berwickshire, Scotland, bordering on Eng- 
land. 

3 Gorse : a low, prickly shrub whiclrgrows wild on barren lands through- 
out England and Scotland. It has a beautiful yellow flower. 

4 Wan : poetical form of won, — reached or gained. 

5 Ptarmigan : a bird belonging to the grouse family. 

(94) 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 95 

The noon had long been passed before 

They gained the height of Lammermoor ; ^ 

Thence winding down the northern way, 20 

Before them at the close of day 

Old Gifford's ^ towers and hamlet lay. 



II. 

No summons calls them to the tower, 

To spend the hospitable hour. 

To Scotland's camp the lord was gone ; 25 

His cautious dame, in bower alone. 

Dreaded her castle to unclose. 

So late, to unknown friends or foes. 
On through the hamlet as they paced, 
Before a porch whose front was graced 30 

With bush 3 and flagon trimly placed, 

Lord Marmion drew his rein : 
The village inn seemed large, though rude ; 
Its cheerful fire and hearty food 

Might well relieve his train. 35- 

Down from their seats the horsemen sprung, 

With jingling spurs the courtyard rung ; 

They bind their horses to the stall, 

For forage, food, and firing call. 

And various clamor fills the hall : 40 

1 Lammermoor : a range of hills in Southeastern Scotland, about twenty 
miles northeast of the English border, 

2 Gifford : a village just beyond the Lammermoor hills, on the road to 
Edinburgh. 

3 Busli : a branch of a tree, especially of ivy, hung out to show where 
wine is sold — the ivy being sacred to Bacchus, the god of wine. Such signs 
are still common in some parts of Europe. 



96 MARMION. CANTO III. 

Weighing the labor with the cost, 
Toils everywhere the bustling host. 



III. 

Soon, by the chimney's merry blaze. 
Through the rude hostel ^ might you gaze. 
Might see where in dark nook aloof ^ 45 

The rafters of the sooty roof 

Bore wealth of winter cheer ; 
Of sea-fowl dried, and solands ^ store,^ 
And gammons ^ of the tusky boar. 

And savory haunch of deer. 50 

The chimney arch projected wide ; 
Above, around it, and beside, 

Were tools for housewives' hand ; 
Nor wanted in that martial day, 
The implements of Scottish fray, 55 

The buckler,*^ lance, and brand. 
Beneath its shade, the place of state, 
On oaken settle,'' Marmion sate. 
And viewed around the blazing hearth 
His followers mix in noisy mirth ; 60 

Whom with brown ale, in jolly tide. 
From ancient vessels ranged aside. 
Full actively their host supplied. 

1 Hostel : inn. 2 Aloof : apart, at a short distance. 

3 Solands : sea-fowl ; the solan-goose or gannet. 

4 Store : generally understood to mean stored up for winter ; but said by- 
Mr. Thomas Davidson to be a Scotch word signifying strong. 

5 Gammons : hams. 

6 Buckler : a kind of shield, 
"' Settle : a seat or bench. 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 97 

IV. 

Theirs was the glee of martial breast, 

And laughter theirs at little jest ; 65 

And oft Lord Marmion deigned to aid, 

And mingle in the mirth they made ; 

For though, with men of high degree. 

The proudest of the proud was he, 

Yet, trained in camps, he knew the art 70 

To win the soldier's hardy heart. 

They love a captain to obey. 

Boisterous as March, yet fresh as May ; 

With open hand and brow as free. 

Lover of wine and minstrelsy ; 75 

Ever the first to scale a tower. 

As venturous in a lady's bower : — 

Such buxom ^ chief shall lead his host 

From India's fires to Zembla's^ frost. 



Resting upon his pilgrim staff, 80 

Right opposite the Palmer stood, 
His thin dark visage seen but half, 

Half hidden by his hood. 
Still fixed on Marmion was his look. 
Which he, who ill such gaze could brook, 85 

Strove by a frov/n to quell ; 
But not for that, though more than once 
Full met their stern encountering glance, 

The Palmer's visage fell. 

Buxom : gay, vigorous, jolly. - Zembla : Nova Zembla. 



98 MARMION. 



VI. 



CANTO III. 



By fits less frequent from the crowd 90 

Was heard the burst of laughter loud ; 
For still, as squire and archer stared 
On that dark face and matted beard, 

Their glee and game declined. 
All gazed at length in silence drear, 95 

Unbroke save when in comrade's ear 
Some yeoman, wondering in his fear, 

Thus whispered forth his mind : 
' Saint Mary ! saw'st thou e'er such sight ? 
How pale his cheek, his eye how bright, 100 

Whene'er the firebrand's fickle light 

Glances beneath his cowl ! 
Full on our lord he sets his eye ; 
For his best palfrey would not I 

Endure that sullen scowl.' 105 

vn. 

But Marmion, as to chase the awe 

Which thus had quelled their hearts who saw 

The ever-varying firelight show 

That figure stern and face of woe. 

Now called upon a squire : no 

' Fitz-Eustace, know'st thou not some lay. 
To speed the lingering night away ? 

We slumber by the fire.' 

' So please you,' thus the youth rejoined, 

' Our choicest minstrel's left behind. 115 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 99 

111 may we hope to please your ear, 

Accustomed Constant's ^ strains to hear. 

The harp full deftly ^ can he strike, 

And wake the lover's lute ^ alike ; 

To dear Saint Valentine no thrush 120 

Sings livelier from a springtide ^ bush, 

No nightingale her lovelorn ^ tune 

More sweetly warbles to the moon. 

Woe to the cause, whate'er it be. 

Detains from us his melody, 125 

Lavished on rocks and billows stern. 

Or duller monks of Lindisfarne. 

Now must I venture as I may, 

To sing his favorite roundelay.' ^ 



IX. 

A mellow voice Fitz-Eustace had, 130 

The air he chose was wild and sad ; 

Such have I heard in Scottish land 

Rise from the busy harvest band, 

When falls before the mountaineer 

On Lowland plains the ripened ear. 135 

Now one shrill voice the notes prolong, 

Now a wild chorus swells the song : 

Oft have I listened and stood still 

As it came softened up the hill, 

And deemed it the lament of men 140 

1 Constant : the page Constance (see Canto I., xv. and Canto II., xx.) . 

2 Deftly : skilfully. 

3 Lute : a kind, of guitar. s Lovelorn : forsaken by one's love. 

4 Springtide : spring season. 6 Roundelay : a kind of song. 



100 MARMION. 



CANTO III. 



Who languished for their native glen, 

And thought how sad would be such sound 

On Susquehanna's swampy ground, 

Kentucky's wood-encumbered brake, 

Or wild Ontario's boundless lake, 145 

Where heart-sick exiles in the strain 

Recalled fair Scotland's hills again ! 



SONG. 

Where shall the lover rest. 

Whom the fates sever 
From his true maiden's breast, 150 

Parted forever? 
Where, through groves deep and high, 

Sounds the far billow. 
Where early violets die, 

Under the willow. 155 

CHORUS. 

Eleu loro^ etc. Soft shall be his pillow. 

There, through the summer day. 

Cool streams are laving ; 
There, while the tempests sway. 

Scarce are boughs waving ; 160 

There thy rest shalt thou take, 

Parted forever, 
Never again to wake, 

Never, O never ! 



) III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 101 

CHOKUS. 

Eleu loro, etc. Never, O never ! 165 

XI. 

Where shall the traitor rest, 

He the deceiver. 
Who could win maiden's breast, 

Ruin and leave her ? 
In the lost battle, 170 

Borne down by the flying, 
Where mingles war's rattle 

With groans of the dying. 

CHORUS. 

Eleu loro, etc. There shall he be lying. 

Her wing shall the eagle flap 175 

O'er the false-hearted ; 
His warm blood the wolf shall lap, 

Ere life be parted. 
Shame and dishonor sit 

By his grave ever; 180 

Blessing shall hallow it, — 

Never, O never ! 

CHORUS. 

Eleu loro, etc. Never, O never ! 

xn. 

It ceased, the melancholy sound. 

And silence sunk on all around. 185 



102 MARMION. 



CANTO III. 



The air was sad ; but sadder still 

It fell on Marmion's ear, 
And plained ^ as if disgrace and ill, 

And shameful death were near. 
He drew his mantle past his face, 190 

Between it and the band, 
And rested with his head a space 

Reclining on his hand. 
His thoughts I scan not ; but I ween 
That, could their import have been seen, 195 

The meanest groom in all the hall, 
That e'er tied courser to a stall. 
Would scarce have wished to be their prey, 
For Lutterward and Fontenaye. 

XIII. : 

High minds, of native pride and force, 200 

Most deeply feel thy pangs. Remorse ! 

Fear for their scourge mean villains have. 

Thou art the torturer of the brave ! 

Yet fatal strength they boast to steel 

Their minds to bear the wounds they feel, 205 

Even while they writhe beneath the smart 

Of civil conflict in the heart. 

For soon Lord Marmion raised his head. 

And smiling to Fitz-Eustace said : 

* Is it not strange that, as ye sung, 210 

Seemed in mine ear a death-peal ^ rung. 

Such as in nunneries they^oll 

For some departing sister's soul ? 

1 Plained: lamented, wailed. 2 Death-peal (see Canto II., xxxiii.). 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 103 

Say, what may this portend ? ' 
Then first the Palmer silence broke, — 215 

The livelong day he had not spoke, — 

' The death of a dear friend.' 



XIV. 

Marmion, whose steady heart and eye 

Ne'er changed in worst extremity, 

Marmion, whose soul could scantly brook 220 

Even from his king a haughty look. 

Whose accent of command controlled 

In camps the boldest of the bold — 

Thought, look, and utterance failed him now. 

Fallen was his glance and flushed his brow ; 225 

For either in the tone. 
Or something in the Palmer's look. 
So full upon his conscience strook ^ 

That answer he found none. 
Thus oft it haps 2 that when within 230 

They shrink at sense of secret sin, 

A feather daunts the brave ; 
A fool's wild speech confounds the wise, 
And proudest princes vail ^ their eyes 

Before their meanest slave. 235 



XV. 

Well might he falter ! — By his aid 
Was Constance Beverley betrayed. 
Not that he augured * of the doom 

1 strook : struck. ^ Vail : cast down. 

-Haps: happens., ■* Augured : guessed, conjectured. 



104 MARMION. 



CANTO III. 



Which on the living closed the tomb : 

But, tired to hear the desperate maid 240 

Threaten by turns, beseech, upbraid, 

And wroth because in wild despair 

She practised ^ on the life of Clare,^ 

Its fugitive the Church he gave. 

Though not a victim, but a slave, 245 

And deemed restraint in convent strange 

Would hide her wrongs and her revenge. 

Himself, proud Henry's ^ favorite peer, 

Held Romish thunders idle fear ; 

Secure his pardon he might hold 250 

For some slight mulct * of penance-gold. 

Thus judging, he gave secret way 

When the stern priests surprised their prey. 

His train but deemed the favorite page 

Was left behind to spare his age ; 255 

Or other, if they deemed, none dared 

To mutter what he thought and heard : 

Woe to the vassal who durst pry 

Into Lord Marmion's privacy ! 

XVI. 

His conscience slept — he deemed her well, 260 

And safe secured in distant cell ; 

But, wakened by her favorite lay, 

And that strange Palmer's boding ^ say ^ 

1 Practised : plotted. 

2 Clare : Clara (see Canto II., xxvii.). 

3 Henry: Henry Vlft^of England. 

4 Mulct: fine. 

5 Boding : foreboding, threatening evil. 

6 Say: speech (see page 103, line 217). 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 105 

That fell so ominous and drear 

Full on the object of his fe:.r, 265 

To aid remorse's venomed throes, 

Dark tales of convent-vengeance rose ; 

And Constance, late betrayed and scorned, 

All lovely on his soul returned ; 

Lovely as when at treacherous call 270 

She left her convent's peaceful wall, 

Crimsoned with shame, with terror mute, 

Dreading alike escape, pursuit. 

Till love, victorious o'er alarms. 

Hid fears and blushes in his arms. 275 

XVII. 

' Alas ! ' he thought, ' how changed that mien ! ^ 

How changed these timid looks have been, 

Since years of guilt and of disguise 

Have steeled her brow and armed her eyes ! 

No more of virgin terror speaks 280 

The blood that mantles in her cheeks , 

Fierce and unfeminine are there. 

Frenzy for joy, for grief despair , 

And I the cause — for whom were given 

Her peace on earth, her hopes in heaven ! — 285 

Would,' thought he, as the picture grows, 

' I on its stalk had left the rose ! 

Oh, why should man's success remove 

The very charms that wake his love ? — 

Her convent's peaceful solitude 290 

Is now a prison harsh and rude ; 

1 Mien: appearance, look. 



106 MAEMION. 



CANTO III. 



And, pent within the narrow cell, 

How will her spirit chafe and swell ! 

How brook the stern monastic laws ! 

The penance how — and I the cause ! — 295 

Vigil and sconrge — perchance even worse ! ' — 

And twice he rose to cry, ' To horse ! ' 

And twice his sovereign's mandate ^ came, 

Like damp upon a kindling flame ; 

And twice he thought, ' Gave I not charge 300 

She should be safe, though not at large ? 

They durst not, for their island, shred 

One golden ringlet from her head.' 

XVIII. 

While thus in Marmion's bosom strove 

Repentance and reviving love, 305 

Like whirlwinds whose contending sway 

I've seen Loch Vennachar 2 obey. 

Their host the Palmer's speech had heard. 

And talkative took up the word : 

' Ay, reverend pilgrim, you who stray 310 

From Scotland's simple land away, 
To visit realms afar. 

Full often learn the art to know 

Of future weal or future woe. 

By word, or sign, or star ; ^ 315 

1 Mandate : the king's command sending him without delay to Edin- 
burgh. 

2 Loch Vennachar: an expansion ^ the beautiful river Teith, in Perth- 
shire, Central Scotland. Scott took the scenery of the Ladij of the Lake 
from this neighborhood. 

3 Star: i.e., by astrology, then believed to be a science. It still finds 
occasional dupes to waste their money on its pretended predictions. 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OE INN. 107 

Yet might a kniglit his fortune hear, 

If, knight-like, he despises fear. 

Not far from hence — if fathers old 

Aright our hamlet legend told.' 

These broken words the menials move, — 320 

For marvels still the vulgar love, — 

And, Marmion giving license cold, 

His tale the host thus gladly told ; — 

XIX. 

THE host's tale. 

* A clerk ^ could tell what years have flown 

Since Alexander ^ filled our throne, — 325 

Third monarch of that warlike name, — 

And eke ^ the time when here he came 

To seek Sir Hugo, then our lord : 

A braver never drew a sword ; 

A wiser never, at the hour 330 

Of midnight, spoke the word of power ; * 

The same whom ancient records call 

The founder of the Goblin-Hall.^ 

I would, Sir Knight,^ your longer stay 

Gave you^ that cavern to survey. 335 

1 Clerk : scholar, man of letters, a name originally given to a clergyman. 

2 Alexander: Alexander III., King of Scotland, 1249-1286. 

3 Eke: also. 

4 Power : magical power. 

5 Goblin-Hall: " a vaulted hall," says Scott, "under the ancient castle 
of Gilford." It was said to have been constructed by magical art, and was 
called in the country, " Bo-Hall, that is. Hobgoblin Hall." 

6 Sir Knight : Sir, a title of honor given to a knight. 
5" Gave you : gave you time. 



108 MARMION. CANTO III. 

Of lofty roof and ample size, 

Beneath the castle deep it lies : 

To hew the living rock profound, 

The floor to pave, the arch to round, 

There never toiled a mortal arm, 340 

It all was wrought by word and charm ; 

And I have heard my grandsire say 

That the wild clamor and affray 

Of those dread artisans of hell. 

Who labored under Hugo's spell, 345 

Sounded as loud as ocean's war 

Among the caverns of Dunbar. 



XX. 

' The king Lord Gifford's castle sought. 

Deep laboring with uncertain thought. 

Even then he mustered all his host, 350 

To meet upon the western coast ; 

For Norse ^ and Danish galleys plied 

Their oars within the Firth of Clyde. 

There floated Haco's ^ banner trim 

Above Norweyan ^ warriors grim, 355 

Savage of heart and large of limb. 

Threatening both continent and isle, 

Bute,* Arran, Cunninghame, and Kyle. 

Lord Gifford, deep beneath the ground, 

1 Norse : Norwegian, Scandinavian. 

2 Haco : Haco, King of Norway, entered the Firth of Clyde, 1263, and 
attacked the Scots, but was defeated byXIexander III, 

3 Norweyan : Norwegian. 

4 Bute, etc. : parts of Scotland bordering on or very near the Firth of 
Clyde. 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 109 

Heard Alexander's bugle sound, 360 

And tarried not his garb to change, 

But, in his wizard habit strange. 

Came forth, — a quaint and fearful sight : 

His mantle lined with fox-skins white ; 

His liigh and wrinkled forehead bore 365 

A pointed cap, such as of yore 

Clerks say that Pharaoh's Magi ^ wore ; 

His shoes were marked with cross and spell, 

Upon his breast a pentacle ; ^ 

His zone ^ of virgin parchment thin, 370 

Or, as some tell, of dead man's skin. 

Bore many a planetary sign. 

Combust, and retrograde, and trine;* 

And in his hand he held prepared 

A naked sword without a guard.^ 375 



XXI. 

' Dire dealings with the fiendish race 

Had marked strange lines upon his face ; 

Vigil and fast had worn him grim. 

His eyesight dazzled seemed and dim, 

As one unused to upper day ; 380 

Even his own menials with dismay 

1 Magi : " wise men," magicians. 

2 Pentacle : a five-cornered piece of linen inscribed with magical char- 
acters. The magician extended the pentacle toward rebellious spirits in 
order to force them to do his will. 

3 Zone : girdle. 

4 Combust, retrograde, and trine : astrological terms describing cer- 
tain positions, (combust, very near the sun,) apparent movements and as- 
pects of the planets. 

5 Guard : a part of the hilt of a sword which protects the hand. 



110 MARMION. 



CANTO III. 



Beheld, Sir Knight, the grisly sire 

In this unwonted wild attire ; 

Unwonted, for traditions run 

He seldom thus beheld the sun. 385 

"I know," he said, — his voice was hoarse, 

And broken seemed its hollow force, — 

" I know the cause, although untold. 

Why the king seeks his vassal's hold : 

Vainly from me my liege ^ would know 390 

His kingdom's future weal or woe ; 

But yet, if strong his arm and heart. 

His courage may do more than art. 

XXII. 

' " Of middle air the demons proud, 

Who ride upon the racking ^ cloud, 395 

Can read in fixed or wandering star 

The issue of events afar. 

But still their sullen aid withhold, 

Save when by mightier force controlled. 

Such late I summoned to my hall ; 400 

And though so potent was the call 

That scarce the deepest nook of hell 

I deemed a refuge from the spell. 

Yet, obstinate in silence still, 

The haughty demon mocks my skill. 405 

But thou, — who little know'st thy might 

As born upon that blessed night ^ 

1 Liege : here, sovereign. 

2 Backing: broken, flying (clouds). 

3 Blessed night : referring to the belief, once prevalent, that those who 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. Ill 

When yawning graves and dying groan 

Proclaimed hell's empire overthrown, — 

With untaught valor shall compel 410 

Response denied to magic spell." 

" Gramercy ! " quoth our monarch free, 

" Place him but front to front with me, 

And, by this good and honored brand, 

The gift of Coeur-de~Lion's 1 hand, 415 

Soothly 2 1 swear that, tide what tide,^ 

The demon shall a buffet bide." * 

His bearing bold the wizard viewed. 

And thus, well pleased, his speech renewed : 

" There spoke the blood of Malcolm ! ^ — mark : 420 

Forth pacing hence at midnight dark. 

The rampart seek whose circling crown 

Crests the ascent of yonder down : 

A southern entrance shalt thou find ; 

There halt, and there thy bugle wind,^ 425 

And trust thine elfin foe to see 

In guise of thy worst enemy. 

Couch then thy lance and spur thy steed — 

Upon him ! and Saint George to speed I ^ 

If he go down, thou soon shalt know 430 

were born on Christmas or Good Friday (the day of Christ's crucifixion) 
had the power of seeing and commanding spirits. 

1 Cceur-de-Lion : Richard Cceur-de-Lion, or the lion-hearted, King of 
England, 1189-1199. 

2 Soothly: truly. 

3 Tide what tide : happen what may. 

4 Buffet bide ■- have to bear a blow. 

5 Malcolm : Alexander III. was a descendant of Malcolm IV. — all the 
kings of that family were noted for their warlike deeds. 

6 Wind: blow. 

7 To speed : may St. George speed you (aid you) in the combat. 



112 MARMION. , CANTO III. 

Whate'er these airy sprites can show ; 
If thy heart fail thee in the strife, 
I am no warrant for thy life." 



XXIII. 

' Soon as the midnight bell did ring, 

Alone and armed, forth rode the king, 435 

To that old camp's deserted round. 

Sir Knight, you well might mark the mound 

Left hand the town, — the Pictish ^ race 

The trench, long since, in blood did trace ; 

The moor around is brown and bare, 440 

The space within is green and fair. 

The spot our village children know. 

For there the earliest wild-flowers grow ; 

But woe betide the wandering wight ^ 

That treads its circle in the night ! 445 

The breadth across, a bowshot clear, 

Gives ample space for full career ; ^ 

Opposed to the four points of heaven, 

By four deep gaps are entrance given. 

The southernmost our monarch passed, 450 

Halted, and blew a gallant blast ; 

And on the north, within the ring, 

Appeared the form of England's king,* 

Who then a thousand leagues afar, 

1 Pictish: pertaining to the Picts, a race of people who inhabited a part 
of Scotland in very ancient times. 

2 Wight : human being, person. " 

3 Full career : full attack for mounted combatants. 

4 King: Edward I. ; called " Longshanks " from his " length of limb " ; 
in 1296 he temporarily conquered Scotland. 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 113 

In Palestine waged holy war : 455 

Yet arms like England's did he wield : 

Alike the leopards ^ in the shield, 

Alike his Syrian courser's frame, 

The rider's length of limb the same. 

Long afterwards did Scotland know 460 

Fell 2 Edward was her deadliest foe. 



XXIV. 

' The vision made our monarch start. 

But soon he manned his noble heart, 

And in the first career they ran. 

The Elfin Knight fell, horse and man ; 465 

Yet did a splinter of his lance 

Through Alexander's visor ^ glance, 

And razed the skin — a 23uny Avound. 

The king, light leaping to the ground, 

With naked blade his phantom foe 

Compelled the future war to show. 

Of Largs ^ he saw the glorious plain, 

Where still gigantic bones remain, 
Memorial of the Danish war ; 

Himself he saw, amid the field, 

On high his brandished war-axe wield 
And strike proud Haco ^ from his car. 



470 



475 



1 Leopards : referring to the three leopards (or lions) in two of the 
quarters or divisions of the royal standard and coat-of-arms of England. 

2 Fell : cruel, savage. 

3 Visor : that part of a helmet which defends the face. 

4 Largs : in 12G3 King Alexander defeated Haco, the Norwegian invader, 
at Largs, a seaport on the Firth of Clyde. 

5 Haco: see note 4, ahove. 



114 MARMION. 



CANTO III. 



While around the shadowy kings 
Denmark's grim ravens ^ cowered their wings. 

'Tis said that in that awful night 480 

Remoter visions met his sight, 

Foreshowing future conquest far, 

When our sons' sons wage Northern war ; 

A royal city, tower and spire, 

Reddened the midnight sky with fire, 485 

And shouting crews her navy bore 

Triumphant to the victor shore. 

Such signs may learned clerks explain. 

They pass the wit^ of simple swain. 



XXV. 

' The joyful king turned home again, 490 

Headed his host, and quelled the Dane ; 
But yearly, when returned the night 
Of his strange combat with the sprite,^ 

His wound must bleed and smart ; 
Lord Gifford then would gibing * say, 495 

" Bold as ye were, my liege, ye pay 

The penance of your start." ^ 
Long since, beneath Dunfermline's nave,^ 

1 Bavens : the raven, the symbol of the Danes, was represented on the 
battle-flags and the sails of their war-vessels. The name of Dane was not 
confined to the inhabitants of Denmark, but was often given to the North- 
men generally. 

2 Pass the wit : are above the understanding. 

3 Sprite : here, spirit or apparition^ 

4 Gibing : gibingly, in a taunting manner. 

5 Start : rash act. 

6 Dunfermline's nave : the nave, or central part, of the ancient abbey 
of Dunfermline, thirteen miles northwest of Edinburgh. 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 115 



500 



King Alexander fills his grave, 

Our Lady give him rest ! 
Yet still the knightly spear and shield 
The Elfin Warrior doth wield 

Upon the brown hill's breast, 
And many a knight hath proved his chance 
In the charmed ring to break a lance, 505 

But all have foully sped ; ^ 
Save two, as legends tell, and they 
Were Wallace wight and Gilbert Hay .2 _ 

Gentles, my tale is said.' 



XXVI. 



The quaighs ^ were deep, the liquor strong, 
And on the tale the yeoman-throno- 
Had made a comment sage and long. 

But Marmion gave a sign : 
And with their lord the squires retire, 
The rest around the hostel fire 

Their drowsy limbs recline ; 
For pillow, underneath each head. 
The quiver and the targe * were laid. 
Deep slumbering on the hostel floor. 
Oppressed with toil and ale, they snore ; 



510 



515 



520 



1 Have foully sped : have met with misfortune or disaster. 

2 Gilbert Hay : this appears to have been Sir Gilbert Hay, or de la Haye, 
of Errol. He was one of the chief adherents of Robert Bruce when, in ISOo' 
that hero determined to rise against Edward I., -the English conqueror of 
Scotland, -and to free his country from foreign rule. See Tytler's Scot- 
land, I., 230. 

3 Quaig-hs : wooden drinking-cups. 

4 Targe : a small, round shield made of ox-hide. 



116 MARMION. CANTO III. 

The dying flame, in fitful change, 
Threw on the group its shadows strange. 



XXVII. 

Apart, and nestling in the hay 

Of a waste loft, Fitz-Eustace lay ; 

Scarce by the pale moonlight were seen 525 

The foldings of his mantle green : 

Lightly he dreamt, as youth will dream, 

Of sport by thicket, or by stream, 

Of hawk or hound, or ring or glove. 

Or, lighter yet, of lady's love. 530 

A cautious tread his slumber broke. 

And, close beside him when he woke. 

In moonbeam half, and half in gloom. 

Stood a tall form with nodding plume ; 

But, ere his dagger Eustace drew, 535 

His master Marmion's voice he knew : 



XXVIII. 

' Fitz-Eustace ! rise, — I cannot rest ; 

Yon churl's wild legend haunts my breast. 

And graver thoughts have chafed my mood ; 

The air must cool my feverish blood, 540 

And fain would I ride forth to see 

The scene of elfin chivalry. 

Arise, and saddle me.my steed ; 

And, gentle Eustace, take good heed 

Thou dost not rouse these drowsy slaves ; 545 

I would not that the prating knaves 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INN. 117 

Had cause for saying, o'er their ale, 

That I could credit such a tale.' 

Then softly down the steps they slid, 

Eustace the stable door undid, 550 

And, darkling,^ Marmion's steed arrayed. 

While, whispering, thus the baron said : — 

XXIX. 

' Didst never, good my youth, hear tell 

That on the hour when I was born 
Saint George, who graced my sire's chapelle,^ 555 
Down from his steed of marble fell, 

A weary wight forlorn? 
The flattering chaplains all agree 
The champion left his steed to me. 
I would, the omen's truth to show, 560 

That I could meet this elfin foe ! 
Blithe would I battle for the right 
To ask one question at the sprite. — 
Vain thought ! for elves, if elves there be. 
An empty race, by fount or sea 565 

To dashing waters dance and sing. 
Or round the green oak wheel their ring.' 
Thus speaking, he his steed bestrode. 
And from the hostel slowly rode. 

XXX. 

Fitz-Eustace followed him abroad, 570 

And marked him pace the village road, 

1 Darkling : in the dark, 

2 Chapelle : a chapel, especially a recess in a church dedicated to some 
saint. 



118 MARMION. 



CANTO III. 



And listened to his horse's tramp, 
Till, by the lessening sound. 

He judged that of the Pictish camp 

Lord Marmion sought the round. 575 

Wonder it seemed, in the squire's eyes. 
That one, so wary held and wise, — 
Of whom 'twas said, he scarce received 
For gospel what the Church believed, — 

Should, stirred by idle tale, 5S0 

Ride forth in silence of the night. 
As hoping half to meet a sprite, 

Arrayed in plate and mail. 
For little did Fitz-Eustace know 
That passions in contending flow 58 5 

Unfix the strongest mind ; 
Wearied from doubt to doubt to flee, 
We welcome fond ^ credulity. 

Guide confident, though blind. 



XXXI. 

Little for this Fitz-Eustace cared, 590 

But patient waited till he heard 

At distance, pricked to utmost speed. 

The foot-tramp of a flying steed 

Come town ward rushing on ; 
First, dead, as if on turf it trode, 595 

Then, clattering on the village road, — 
In other pace than forthjie yode,^ 

Returned Lord Marmion. 

1 Fond : foolish. 2 Yode : weut. 



CANTO III. THE HOSTEL, OR INK. 119 

Down hastily he sprung from selle,^ 

And in his haste wellnigh he fell ; 600 

To the squire's hand the rein he threw, 

And spoke no word as he withdrew : 

But yet the moonlight did betray 

The falcon-crest was soiled with clay ; 

And plainly might Fitz-Eustace see, 605 

By stains upon the charger's knee 

And his left side, that on the moor 

He had not kept his footing sure. 

Long musing on these wondrous signs, 

At length to rest the squire reclines, 610 

Broken and short ; for still between 

Would dreams of terror intervene : 

Eustace did ne'er so blithely mark 

The first notes of the morning lark. 

1 Selle : saddle. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO FOURTH. 

To JAMES SKENE, Esq.i 

Ashestiel, Ettrich Forest. 

An aged Minstrel sagely said, 

' Where is the life ^ which late we led ? ' 

That motley ^ clown in Arden wood,* 

Whom humorous ^ Jaques ^ with envy viewed, 

Not even that clown could amplify 5 

On this trite "^ text so long as I. 

Eleven years we now may tell 

Since we have known each other well, 

Since, riding side by side, our hand 

First drew the voluntary brand ; lo 

And sure, through many a varied scene, 

1 James Skene, Esq. : he was in the Royal Edinburgh Light Horse Vol- 
unteers, of which Scott was Quartermaster, — that office having been se- 
lected for Scott in order that (on account of his lameness) he might be 
spared the rough usage of the ranks. 

2 "Where is the life": an adaptation of a line of a ballad quoted by 
Shakespeare, in The Taming of the Shreio, Act IV., scene i., and in 2 Henry 
IV., Act v., scene iii. 

3 Motley: a bright, parti-colored dress, like that of a circus clown, worn 
by professional jesters or fools; the word is also sometimes used in the 
sense of incoherent. 

4 Arden wood : the Forest of Arden in the North of France (see As Fom 
Like It, Act II., scene i.). 

5 Humorous : here, melancholy, — *~n;he melancholy Jaques " (see As 
Toil Like It, Act II., scene i.). 

6 Jaques : a character in Shakespeare's As You Like It, Act II., scene vii. 
' Trite: commonplace. 

(120) 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO IV. 121 

Unkindness never came betweeiio 

Away these winged years have flown, 

To join the mass of ages gone ; 

And though deep marked, like all below, 15 

With checkered shades of joy and woe. 

Though thou o'er realms and seas hast ranged. 

Marked cities lost and empires changed. 

While here at home my narrower ken 

Somewhat of manners saw and men ; 20 

Though varying wishes, hopes, and fears 

Fevered the progress of these years. 

Yet now, days, weeks, and months but seem 

The recollection of a dream. 

So still we glide down to the sea 25 

Of fathomless eternity. 

Even now it scarcely seems a day 
Since first I tuned this idle lay ; 
A task so often thrown aside. 

When leisure graver cares denied, 30 

That now November's dreary gale. 
Whose voice inspired my opening tale. 
That same November gale once more 
Whirls the dry leaves on Yarrow shore. 
Their vexed boughs streaming to the sky, 35 

Once more our naked birches sigh. 
And Blackhouse heights and Ettrick Pen ^ 
Have donned their wintry shrouds again, 

1 Blackhouse heights — a range of hills dividing the upper valley of the 
Yarrow from that of the Tweed —and Ettrick Pen (a commanding hill fur- 
ther south) are hoth within a range of ahout twenty miles southwest of 
Scott's residence at Ashestiel. 



122 MARMION. 

And mountain dark and flooded mead 

Bid us forsake the banks of Tweed. 40 

Earlier than wont along the sky, 

Mixed with the rack,^ the snow mists fly ; 

The shepherd who, in summer sun, 

Had something of our envy won, 

As thou with pencil, I with pen, 45 

The features traced of hill and glen, — 

He who, outstretched the livelong day. 

At ease among the heath-flowers lay. 

Viewed the light clouds with vacant look. 

Or slumbered o'er his tattered book, 50 

Or idly busied him to guide 

His angle ^ o'er the lessened tide, — 

At midnight now the snowy plain 

Finds sterner labor for the swain. 

When red hath set the beamless sun 55 

Through heavy vapors dank and dun. 
When the tired ploughman, dry and warm. 
Hears, half asleep, the rising storm 
Hurling the hail and sleeted rain 
Against the casement's tinkling pane ; 60 

The sounds that drive wild deer and fox 
To shelter in the brake and rocks 
Are warnings which the shej)herd ask 
To dismal and to dangerous task. 
Oft he looks forth, and hopes, in vain, 65 

The blast may sink in ^nellowing rain ; 

1 Kack: thin, flying, broken clouds. 2 Angle: a fishing-rod. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO TV. 123 

Till, dark above and white below, 

Decided drives the flaky snow, 

And forth the hardy swain must go. 

Long, with dejected look and whine, 70 

To leave the hearth his dogs repine ; 

Whistling and cheering them to aid, 

Around his back he wreathes the plaid : 

His flock he gathers and he guides 

To open downs and mountain-sides, 75 

Where fiercest though the tempest blow. 

Least deeply lies the drift below. 

The blast that whistles o'er the fells 

Stiffens his locks to icicles ; 

Oft he looks back while, streaming far, 80 

His cottage window seems a star, — 

Loses its feeble gleam, — and then 

Turns patient to the blast again. 

And, facing to the tempest's sweep. 

Drives through the gloom his lagging sheep. 85 

If fails his heart, if his limbs fail, 

Benumbing death is in the gale ; 

His 2>aths, his landmarks, all unknown. 

Close to the hut, no more his own. 

Close to the aid he sought in vain, 90 

The morn may find the stiffened swain : 

The widow sees, at dawning pale. 

His orphans raise their feeble wail ; 

And, close beside him in the snow. 

Poor Yarrow, partner of their woe, 95 

Couches upon his master's breast, 

And licks his cheek to })reak his rest. 



124 MARMION. 

Who envies now the shepherd's lot, 
His healthy fare, his rural cot. 
His summer couch by greenwood tree, loo 

His rustic kirn's ^ loud revelry. 
His native hill-notes tuned on high 
To Marion of the blithesome eye. 
His crook,2 ]^jg scrip, his oaten reed,^ 
And all Arcadia's golden creed?* 105 

Changes not so with us, my Skene, 
Of human life the varying scene ? 
Our youthful summer oft we see 
Dance by on wings of game and glee, 
While the dark storm reserves its rage no 

Against the winter of our age ; 
As he, the ancient chief of Troy, 
His manhood spent in peace and joy. 
But Grecian fires and loud alarms 
Called ancient Priam ^ forth to arms. 115 

Then happy those, since each must drain 
His share of pleasure, share of pain, — 
Then happy those, beloved of Heaven, 
To whom the mingled cup is given ; 
Whose lenient sorrows find relief, 120 



1 Kirn: the Scottish Harvest-home, a feast celebrated at the end of the 
harvest. 

2 Crook : a shepherd's staff, curved at the end. 

3 Oaten reed : a shepherd's pipe, or flute, made of oaten straw. 

4 Arcadia's golden creed : the simple, rustic merriment which char- 
acterized the shepherds of Arcadia in ancient Greece. 

^ Priam : king of Troy, Asia Minor, who fought to defend his realm 
against the attack of the Greeks; the war is the subject of the Iliad; and 
of part of the yEneid. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO IV. 125 

Whose joys are cliastenecl by their grief. 

And such a lot, my Skene, was thine, 

When thou of late wert doomed to twine — 

Just when thy bridal hour was by — 

The cypress with the myrtle^ tie. 125 

Just on thy bride her sire had smiled, 

And blessed the union of his child. 

When love must change its joyous clieer. 

And wipe affection's filial tear. 

Nor did the actions next his end 130 

Speak more the father than the friend : 

Scarce had lamented Forbes '^ paid 

The tribute to his minstrel's shade. 

The tale of friendship scarce was told, 

Ere the narrator's heart was cold — 135 

Far may we search before we find 

A heart so manly and so kind ! 

But not around his honored urn ^ 

Shall friends alone and kindred mourn ; 

The tliousand eyes his care had dried 140 

Pour at his name a bitter tide, 

And frequent falls the grateful dew 

For benefits the world ne'er knew. 

If mortal charity dare claim 

The Almighty's attributed name, 145 

1 Cypress with the myrtle : the cypress has long been considered an 
emblem of death ; the myrtle is still used for bridal wreaths. 

2 Forbes (Scottish pronunciation, For'bes) : Sir William Forbes, of Pit- 
sligo, Scotland. He wrote a life of the Scottish poet, James Beattie, and 
died not long after its publication. Scott's friend Skene married one of 
Sir William's daughters. 

3 Urn; here used for grave ; the ancients kept the ashes of their dead in 



126 MARMION. 

Inscribe above his mouldering clay, 

'The widow's shield, the orphan's stay.' 

Nor, though it wake thy sorrow, deem 

My verse intrudes on this sad theme, 

For sacred was the pen that wrote, 150 

' Thy father's friend forget thou not ' ; 

And grateful title may I plead. 

For many a kindly word and deed. 

To bring my tribute to his grave : — 

'Tis little — but 'tis all I have. 155 

To thee, j)erchance, this rambling strain 
Recalls our summer walks again ; 
When, doing nought, — and, to speak true, 
Not anxious to find aught ^ to do, — 
The wild unbounded hills we ranged, 160 

While oft our talk its topic changed. 
And, desultory as our way. 
Ranged unconfined from grave to gay. 
Even when it flagged, as oft will chance. 
No effort made to break its trance, 165 

We could right pleasantly pursue 
Our sports in social silence too ; 
Thou gravely laboring to portray 
The blighted oak's fantastic spray, 
I spelling o'er with much delight 170 

The legend of that antique knight, 
Tirantc ^ by name, ycleped ^ the White. 

1 Aught : auything. 

2 Tirante: the romance of Tirante the White, written hy a Spanish 
knight, and printed in 1480. 

3 Ycleped : called. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO IV. 127 

At eitber's feet a trusty squire,^ 

Pandour and Camp, with eyes of fire, 

Jealous each other's motions viewed, 175 

And scarce suppressed their ancient feud. 

The laverock ^ whistled from the cloud ; 

The stream was lively, but not loud ; 

From the white thorn the May-flower ^ shed 

Its dewy fragrance round our head : 180 

Not Ariel * lived more merrily 

Under the blossomed bough than we. 

And blithesome nights, too, have been ours. 
When Winter stript the Summer's bowers. 
Careless we heard, what now I hear, 185 

The wild blast sighing deep and drear, 
When fires were bright and lamps beamed gay. 
And ladies tuned the lovely lay, 
And he was held a laggard ^ soul 
Who shunned to quaff the sparkling bowl. 190 

Then he ^ whose absence we deplore, 
Who breathes the gales of Devon's shore. 
The longer missed, bewailed the more. 
And thou, and I, and dear-loved R^ '' 

1 Squire: here, a dog. " Camp " was the name of a favorite bull-terrier 
of Scott's ; " Pandour " was presumably his friend Skene's dog. 

2 Laverock : the lark. 

3 May-flower: the " may," or hawthorn; so called because it blooms in 
May. 

4 Ariel: the "tricksy spirit" that appears as one of the characters in 
Shakespeare's Tempest (see Act V., scene i.). Scott's words are almost a 
quotation of those of Ariel's. ^ Laggard : sluggish, spiritless. 

6 He: Colin Mackenzie, Esq.; he was clerk of the Supreme Civil Court 
of Scotland, and a particular friend of the poet's. 

'' R : Sir William Rae, later Lord Advocate of Scotland, was a mem- 
ber of the volunteer corps to which Scott belonged. 



128 MARMION. 

And one ^ whose name I may not say, — 195 

For not mimosa's ^ tender tree 

Shrinks sooner from the touch than he, — 

In merry chorus well combined, 

With laughter drowned the whistling wind. 

Mirth was within, and Care without 200 

Might gnaw her nails to hear our shout. 

Not but amid the buxom scene 

Some grave discourse might intervene — 

Of the good horse that bore him best, 

His shoulder, hoof, and arching crest ; 205 

For, like mad Tom's,^ our chiefest care 

Was horse to ride and weapon wear. 

Such nights we've had ; and, though the game 

Of manhood be more sober tame. 

And though the field-day or the drill 210 

Seem less important now, yet still 

Such may we hope to share again. 

The sprightly thought inspires my strain ! 

And mark how, like a horseman true. 

Lord Marmion's march I thus renew. 215 

1 One : Sir William Forbes, son of the Sir William mentioned on page 
125, note 2. Skene, Mackenzie, Rae, Forbes, and Scott, with a few others, 
had formed themselves into a little club. 

2 Mimosa : the sensitive plant. 

3 Mad Tom : Edgar, son of the Earl of Gloster, disguised as a lunatic or 
fool, but who hath had " horse to ride, and weapon to wear." See King 
Lear. 



THE CAMP. 



Eustace, I said, did blithely mark 

The first notes of the merry lark. 

The lark sang shrill, the cock he crew, 

And loudly Marmion's bugles blcAv, 

And with their light and lively call 5 

Brought groom and yeoman to the stall. 

Whistling they came and free of heart. 
But soon their mood was changed ; 

Complaint was heard on every part 

Of something disarranged. 10 

Some clamored loud for armor lost ; 
Some brawled and wrangled with the host ; 
' By Becket's bones,' ^ cried one, ' I fear 
That some false Scot has stolen my spear ! ' 
Young Blount, Lord Marmion's second squire, 1 5 
Found his steed wet with sweat and mire. 
Although the rated ^ horseboy sware 
Last night he dressed him sleek and fair. 
While chafed the impatient squire like thunder. 
Old Hubert shouts, in fear and wonder, — 20 

1 Becket's bones : St. Thomas a Becket ; his shrine was in the cathe- 
dral at Canterbury, and was visited by thousands of pilgrims yearly. 

2 Rated : scolded. 

(129) 



130 MARMION. CANTO iv. 

' Help, gentle Blount ! help, comrades all ! 

Bevis lies dying in his stall ; 

To Marmion who the plight dare tell 

Of the good steed he loves so well ? ' 

Gaping for fear and ruth, they saw 25 

The charger panting on his straw ; 

Till one, who would seem wisest, cried, 

' What else but evil could betide. 

With that cursed Palmer for our guide ? 

Better we had through mire and bush 30 

Been lantern-led by Friar Rush.' ^ 



II. 

Fitz-Eustace, who the cause but guessed,. 

Nor wholly understood. 
His comrades' clamorous plaints suppressed ,- 

He knew Lord Marmion's mood. 35 

Him, ere he issued forth, he sought, 
And found deep plunged in gloomy thought, 

And did his tale display 
Simply, as if he knew of nought 

To cause such disarray. 40 

Lord Marmion gave attention cold. 
Nor marvelled at the wonders told, — 
Passed them as accidents of course, 
And bade his clarions ^ sound to horse. 



1 Friar Rush: the Will-o'-the-wisp, a dancing, flitting light which 
appears chiefly in marshy places ; this Tight was once supposed to be the 
work of a tricksy spirit who amused himself by leading travellers astray 
through mud and mire. 

- Clarions : shrill-sounding trumpets, used to give signals. 



55 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. 131 

III. 

Young Henry Blount, meanwhile, the cost 45 

Had reckoned with their Scottish host ; 

And, as the charge he cast and paid, 

' 111 thou deserv'st thy hire,' he said ; 

' Dost see, thou knave, my horse's plight ? 

Fairies have ridden him all the night, 50 

And left him in a foam ! 
I trust that soon a conjuring band. 
With English cross and blazing brand. 
Shall drive the devils from this land 

To their infernal home ; 
For in this haunted den, I trow. 
All night they trampled to and fro.' 
The laughing host looked on the hire : 
' Gramercy, gentle southern 1 squire. 
And if thou com'st among the rest, 60 

With Scottish broadsword to be blest. 
Sharp be the brand, and sure the blow. 
And short the pang to undergo.' 
Here stayed their talk, for Marmion 
Gave now the signal to set on. 65 

The Palmer showing forth the way. 
They journeyed all the morning-day. 



IV. 

The greensward way was smooth and good, 
Through Humbie's and through Saltoun's wood ; 2 

1 Southern : here, equivalent to English. 

2 Humbie's and Saltoun's wood: they are not far from Gifford, on the 
way to Edinburgh. 



132 MARMION. 



CANTO IV. 



A forest glade, which, varying still, 70 

Here gave a view of dale and hill. 

There narrower closed till overhead 

A vaulted screen the branches made. 

' A pleasant path,' Fitz-Eustace said ; 

' Such as where errant-knights ^ might see 75 

Adventures of high chivalry. 

Might meet some damsel flying fast, 

With hair unbound and looks aghast ; 

And smooth and level course were here. 

In her defence to break a spear. 80 

Here, too, are twilight nooks and dells ; 

And oft in such, the story tells, 

The damsel kind, from danger freed. 

Did grateful pay her champion's meed.' 

He spoke to cheer Lord Marmion's mind, 85 

Perchance to show his lore designed ; 

For Eustace much had pored 
Upon a huge romantic tome,^ 
In the hall-window of his home. 
Imprinted at the antique dome 90 

Of Caxton or de Worde.^ 
Therefore he spoke, — but spoke in vain. 
For Marmion answered nought again. 

1 Errant-knights : knights roving about in search of adventure. 

2 Tome : volume. 

3 Caxton or de Worde : William Caxton, the first English printer 
(14:22?-1491). He set up his press in 1477, within the precincts of West- 
minster Abbey. Wynkin de Worde, his assistant and successor, dated 
many of his books, " In domo Caxton/'^ that is, from Caxton's "dome " 
or house. On Nov. 18, 1477, Caxton published " The Dictes and Sayings of 
the Philosophers." This was undoubtedly the first book printed in Eng- 
land. A copy of this most interesting work is preserved in Lord Spencer's 
library at Althorpe, and a later edition is found in the British Museum. 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. 133 

V. 

Now sudden, distant trumpets shrill, 

In notes prolonged by wood and hill, 95 

Were heard to echo far ; 
Each ready archer grasped his bow. 
But by the flourish soon they know 

They breathed no point ^ of war. 
Yet cautious, as in foeman's land, loo 

Lord Marmion's order speeds the band 

Some opener ground to gain ; 
And scarce a furlong had they rode, 
When thinner trees receding showed 

A little woodland plain. 105 

Just in that advantageous glade ^ 
The halting troop a line had made, 
As forth from the opposing shade 

Issued a gallant train. 



VI. 

First came the trumpets, at whose clang no 

So late the forest echoes rang ; 

On prancing steeds they forward pressed. 

With scarlet mantle, azure vest ; 

Each at his trump a banner wore. 

Which Scotland's royal scutcheon bore: 115 

Heralds and pursuivants, by name 

Bute, Islay, Marchmount, Rothsay, came. 

In painted tabards, proudly showing 

1 Point: signal. 

2 Glade : au opening in the woods. 



134 MARMION. CANTO IV. 

Gules, argent, or, and azure ^ glowing. 

Attendant on a king-at-arms,^ 120 

Whose hand the armorial truncheon ^ held 

That feudal strife had often quelled 
When wildest its alarms. 

VII. 

He was a man of middle age. 

In aspect manly, grave, and sage, 125 

As on king's errand come ; 
But in the glances of his eye 
A penetrating, keen, and sly 

Expression found its home ; 
The flash of that satiric rage 130 

Which, bursting on the early stage, 
Branded the vices of the age. 

And broke the keys of Rome. 
On milk-white palfrey forth he paced ; 
His cap of maintenance^ was graced 135 

With the proud heron-plume. 
From his steed's shoulder, loin, and breast, 

Silk housings swept the ground. 
With Scotland's arms, device,^"* and crest,^ 

1 Gules, argent, or, and azure : the colors (red, silver, gold, and blue) 
displayed on the tabards. 

2 King-at-arms : an officer who has command of the heralds. 

3 Armorial truncheon : a short staff used as a badge of office and 
authority by the king-at-arms. 

4 Cap of maintenance : a scarlet cap trimmed with ermine, worn by the 
king-at-arms. -- 

5 Device: an emblem or motto; here, perhaps, the helmet placed above 
the royal coat-of-arms. 

6 Crest : here, the figure of a lion placed above the escutcheon or 
armorial shield. 



CANTO IV. 



THE CAMP. 135 



Embroidered round and round. 140 

The double tressure ^ might you see, 

First by Achaius ^ borne, 
The thistle and the fleur-de-lis,^ 

And gallant unicorn.^ 
So bright the king's armorial coat 145 

That scarce the dazzled eye could note, 
In living colors blazoned brave,^ 
The Lion,^ which his title gave ; 
A train, which well beseemed" his state, 
But all unarmed, around him wait. 150 

Still is thy name in high account. 
And still thy verse has charms. 

Sir David Lindesay^ of the Mount, 
Lord Lion King-at-arms ! 

VIII. 

Down from his horse did Marmion spring 155 

Soon as he saw the Lion-King ; 
For well the stately baron knew 

1 Double tressure • a double border on an escutcheon. 

2 Achaius : a traditional king of Scotland (or of some part of it) in the 
ninth century. 

3 Fleur-de-lis : a lily or a figure of the head of a warlike weapon 
resembling a lily. 

4 Unicorn: a fabulous animal having the head and body of a horse, and 
a long straight horn projecting from the middle of the forehead. 

5 Brave: splendid. 

6 Lion: the lion rampant, or standing upright in an attitude of attack 
(in brightest red), on a gold ground on the arms of Scotland. 

" Beseemed : suited. 

^ Sir David Lindesay: a popular poet of great influence in his day. It 
is supposed that he was born at the Mount, in the town of Cupar-Fife, about 
thirty miles north of Edinburgh. 



136 MARMION. CANTO IV. 

To him such courtesy was due 

Whom royal James ^ himself had crowned, 

And on his temples placed the round i6o 

Of Scotland's ancient diadem,^ 
And wet his brow with hallowed wine, 
And on his finger given to shine 

The emblematic gem.^ 
Their mutual greetings duly made, 165 

The Lion thus his message said : — 
' Though Scotland's king hath deeply swore 
Ne'er to knit faith with Henry more, 
And strictly hath forbid resort 
From England to his royal court, 170 

Yet, for* he knows Lord Marmion's name 
And honors much his warlike fame, 
My liege hath deemed it shame and lack 
Of courtesy to turn him back ; 

And by his order I, your guide, 175 

Must lodging fit and fair provide 
Till finds King James meet time to see 
The flower of English chivalry.' 

IX. 

Though inly chafed at this delay. 
Lord Marmion bears it as he may. 180 

The Palmer, his mysterious guide. 
Beholding thus his place supplied, 
Sought to take leave in vain ; 

1 James : James IV., King of Scotland7^^ 

2 Diadem : a crown or royal head-dress. 

3 Emblematic gem : probably a seal or signet ring resembling that 
worn by the king of Scotland. "* For : because. 



THE CAMP. 



137 



Strict was the Lion-King's command 

That none who rode in Marmion's band 185 

Should sever from the train. 
' England has here enow of spies 
In Lady Heron's witching eyes ; ' 
To Marchmount thus ajDart he said, 
But fair pretext to Marmion made. 
The right-hand path they now decline, 
And trace against the stream the Tyne.i 



190 



X. 



At length up that wild dale they wind. 

Where Crichtoun Castle 2 crowns the bank ; 
For there the Lion's care assigned 195 

A lodging meet for Marmion's rank. 
That castle rises on the steep 

Of the green vale of Tyne ; 
And far beneath, where slow they creep 
From pool to eddy, dark and deep, 200 

Where alders moist and willows weep, 

You hear her streams repine. 
The towers in different ages rose. 
Their various architecture shows 

The builders' various hands ; 205 

A mighty mass, that could oppose, 
When deadliest hatred fired its foes, 

The vengeful Douglas ^ bands. 

iTyne: a small river of Scotland emptying into the North Sea, near 
Dunbar. 

2 Crichtoun Castle: (commonly spelled Crichton, see map,) a castle 
(now a magnificent ruin) on the banks of the Tyne about seven miles from 
H^dmburgh. It belonged originally to Sir William Crichtoun 

' Douglas: the Earl of Douglas. Sir William Crichtoun was accessory 



138 - MAKMION. 



XI. 



CANTO IV. 



Crichtoun I though now thy miry court 

But pens the lazy steer and sheep, 210 

Thy turrets rude and tottered keep 
Have been the minstrel's loved resort. 
Oft have I traced, within thy fort, 

Of mouldering shields the mystic sense, 

Scutcheons of honor or pretence,^ 215 

Quartered in old armorial sort, ^ 

Remains of rude magnificence. 
Nor wholly yet hath time defaced 

Thy lordly gallery fair, 
Nor yet the stony cord unbraced 220 

Whose twisted knots, with roses laced, 

Adorn thy ruined stair. 
Still rises unimpaired below 
The court-yard's graceful portico ; 
Above its cornice, row and row 225 

Of fair hewn facets ^ richly show 

Their pointed diamond form. 
Though there but houseless cattle go, 

To shield them from the storm. 
And, shuddering, still may we explore, 230 

Where oft whilom^ were captives pent, 
The darkness of thy Massy More,* 

to the seizure and beheading, on a charge of treason, of the young Earl of 
Douglas; the succeeding earl attacked and partly demolished Crichtoun 
Castle. 

1 Pretence: the shield on which ^ar-iaan carries the arms of his wife, 
providing she is an heiress and he has children by her, 

2 Facets : here, diamond-shaped fiat projections. 

3 Whilom : formerly. 

•* Massy More : a dungeon, a name of Saracenic or Eastern origin. 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. . 139 

Or, from thy grass-grown battlement, 

May trace in undulating line 

The sluggish mazes of the Tyne. 235 



XII. 

Another aspect Crichtoun showed 

As through its portal Mar m ion rode ; 

But yet 'twas melancholy state 

Received him at the outer gate, 

For none were in the castle then 240 

But women, boys, or aged men. 

With eyes scarce dried, the sorrowing dame 

To welcome noble Marmion came ; 

Her son, a stripling twelve years old. 

Proffered the baron's rein to hold ; 245 

For each man that could draw a sword 

Had marched that morning with their lord. 

Earl Adam Hepburn,^ — he who died 

On Flodden^ by his sovereign's side. 

Long may his lady look in vain ! 250 

She ne'er shall see his gallant train 

Come sweeping back through Crichtoun-Dean.^ 

'Twas a brave race before the name 

Of hated Bothwell* stained their fame. 

1 Adam Hepburn: second Earl of Both well. 

2 Flodden: this great battle between England and Scotland will be fully 
described in Canto VI. 

3 Crichtoun-Dean : probably a place in the vicinity of Crichtoun Castle ; 
the name is not found in the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. 

4 Hated Bothwell : James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell (1526-1577). In 
1562 he formed a conspiracy to seize the queen, —the unfortunate Mary, 
Queen of Scots,— bvit was detected, and the plot failed. Later, he gained 
Mary's confidence and was implicated — so it is generally believed — in the 



140 . MARMION. CANTO iv. 

XIII. 

And here two days did Marmion rest, 255 

With every right that honor claims, 
Attended as the king's own guest ; — 
Such the command of Royal James, 
Who marshalled then his land's array, 
Upon the Borough-moor ^ that lay. 260 

Perchance he would not foeman's eye 
Upon his gathering host should pry. 
Till full prepared was every band 
To march against the English land. 
Here while they dwelt, did Lindesay's wit 265 

Oft cheer the baron's moodier fit ; 
And, in his turn, he knew to prize 
Lord Marmion's powerful mind and wise, — 
Trained in the lore of Rome and Greece, 
And policies of war and peace. 270 



XIV. 

It chanced, as fell the second night, 
That on the battlements they walked. 

And by the slowly fading light 
Of varying topics talked ; 

And, unaware, the herald-bard ^ 275 

murder of her husband, Lord Darnley. In 1567 Bothwell married the 
queen, but was compelled to fly to the Orkney Islands, and subsequently 
to Denmark, to escape the armed force which the nobility of Scotland 
raised against him. 

1 Borough-moor : the Borough or common moor was, says Scott, a 
spacious field extending from the walls of Edinburgh to the foot of the 
Braid Hills, about two miles distant. 

2 Herald-bard : alluding to the fact that Sir David Lindesay was a poet. 



CANTO IV. 



THE CAMP. 141 



Said Marmion might his toil have spared 

In travelling so far, 
For that a messenger from heaven 
In vain to James had counsel given 

Against the English war ; 2S0 

And, closer questioned, thus he told 
A tale which chronicles of old 
In Scottish story have enrolled : — 



XY. 
SIR DAVID LINDESAY's TALE. 

' Of all the palaces so fair 

Built for the royal dwelling 285 

In Scotland, far beyond compare 

Linlithgow^ is excelling; 
And in its park, in jovial June, 
How sweet the merry linnet's tune. 

How blithe the blackbird's lay ! 290 

The wild buck bells ^ from ferny brake, 
The coot^ dives merry on the lake. 
The saddest heart might pleasure take 

To see all nature gay. 
But June is to our sovereign dear 295 

The heaviest month in all the year ; 
Too well his cause of grief you know, 

1 Linlithgow : the ancient royal palace of Linlithgow in the town of 
that name seventeen miles west of Edinburgh. Here Mary, Queen of Scots, 
was born. Scott says the palace is " eminently beautiful." 

2 Bells : apparently, says Scott, an abbreviation of bellows. 

3 Coot ; a kind of bird frequenting lakes and ponds. 



142 - MARMION. 



CANTO IV. 



June saw his father's overthrow.^ 

Woe to the traitors who could bring 

The princely boy against his king I 300 

Still in his conscience burns the sting. 

In offices 2 as strict as Lent^ 

King James's June is ever spent. 

XVI. 

'When last this ruthful^ month was come, 

And in Linlithgow's holy dome 305 

The king, as wont, was praying : 
While for his royal father's soul 
The chanters^ sung, the bells did toll, 

The bishop mass ^ was saying — 
For now the year brought round again 310 

The day the luckless king was slain — 
In Catherine's aisle ^ the monarch knelt, 
With sackcloth shirt ^ and iron belt, 

1 His father's overthrow : James III., father of James IV. of Scotland, 
was killed (1488) in a rebellion in which his son led a force against him. 
James IV., hearing the monks at Stirling deploring the death of his father, 
was seized with remorse, and endeavored to expiate his crime by severe 
penances. 

2 Offices : religious services. 

3 Lent : a fast of forty days, beginning at Ash- Wednesday and continu- 
ing until Easter, It was formerly kept with great strictness in commemo- 
ration of Christ's forty days' fast in the wilderness. 

4 Ruthful ; woful, sorrowful. 

5 Chanters : here, persons hired to chant services for the dead. 

6 Mass : here, prayers for the repose of the soul of the dead. 
'Catherine's aisle: St. CatheiTiie,'_s chapel, in St. Michael's church, 

Linlithgow. St. Michael's is considered one of the noblest Gothic churches 
in Scotland. 

8 Sackcloth shirt: a shirt made of very coarse, rough cloth, worn next 
to the skin as a penance. 



CANTO IV. 



THE CAMP. 143 



And eyes with sorrow streaming ; 
Around him in their stalls^ of state 315 

The Thistle's Knight-Companions ^ sate, 

Their banners o'er them beaming. 
I too was there, and, sooth to tell, 
Bedeafened with the jangling knell, 
Was watching where the sunbeams fell, 320 

Through the stained casement gleaming ; 
But while I marked what next befell 

It seemed as I were dreaming. 
Stepped from the crowd a ghostly wight, 
In azure gown, with cincture^ white ; 325 

His forehead bald, his head was bare, 
Down hung at length his yellow hair. — 
Now, mock me not when, good my lord, 
I pledge to you my knightly word 
That when I saw his placid grace, 330 

His simple majesty of face. 
His solemn bearing, and his pace 

So stately gliding on, — 
Seemed to me ne'er did limner* paint 
So just an image of the saint 335 

Who propped the Virgin in her faint. 

The loved Apostle John ! 



1 stalls : seats in the choir of a church ; they are wholly or partially 
enclosed at the back and sides, have canopies, and are often very richly 
carved. 

2 Thistle's Knight-Companions: the thistle appears to have been a 
national emblem in Scotland as early as the time of James III. There may 
have been a Scottish order of Knighthood of the Thistle in James IV.'s 
reign, though the order usually known as such was not founded until much 
later (16S7). 3 Cincture: a belt or girdle. 

4 Limner : an artist, a portrait painter. 



144 MARMION. CANTO IV. 

XVII. 

' He stepped before the monarch's chair, 
And stood with rustic plainness there, 

And little reverence made ; 340 

Nor head, nor body, bowed, nor bent. 
But on the desk his arm he leant. 

And words like these he said. 
In a low voice, — but never tone 
So thrilled through vein, and nerve, and bone : — 345 
" My mother sent me from afar. 
Sir King, to warn thee not to war, — 

Woe waits on thine array ; 
If war thou wilt, of woman fair,^ 
Her witching wiles and wanton snare, 350 

James Stuart, doubly warned, beware : 

God keep thee as he may ! " — 
The wondering monarch seemed to seek 

For answer, and found none ; 
And when he raised his head to speak, 355 

The monitor 2 was gone. 
The marshal and myself had cast^ 
To stop him as hb outward passed ; 
But, lighter than the whirlwind's blast, 

He vanished from our eyes, 360 



1 Woman fair : Tytler, History of Scotland, V., 67-70, relates this story 
of the warning and attributes it to a stratagem of the queen. However it 
had no influence, and Lady Heron (see Canto I., xvii.), the beautiful and 
artful wife of Sir William Heron (not Sir Hugh the Heron, as Scott later 
says) , completely captivated the king^ She used her influence to retard his 
military operations, and probably carried all the information she got from 
James to the Earl of Surrey, commander of the English forces. 

2 Monitor : one who warns of faults or calls to duty. 

3 Cast : intended, purposed. 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. 145 

Like sunbeam on the billow cast, 
That glances but, and dies.' 



xvni. 

While Lindesay told his marvel strange 

The twilight was so pale, 
He marked not Marmion's color change 365 

While listening to the tale ; 
But, after a suspended pause, 
The baron spoke : ' Of Nature's laws 

So strong I held the force, 
That never superhuman cause 370 

Could e'er control their course. 
And, three days since, had judged your aim 
Was but to make your guest your game ; ^ 
But I have seen, since past the Tweed, 
What much has changed my sceptic creed, 375 

And made me credit aught.' — He stayed, 
And seemed to wish his words unsaid, 
But, by that strong emotion pressed, 
Which prompts us to unload our breast 

Even when discovery's pain, 380 

To Lindesay did at length unfold 
The tale his village host had told, 

At Gifford, to his train. 
Nought of the palmer says he there. 
And nought of Constance or of Clare ; 385 

The thoughts which broke his sleep he seems 
To mention but as feverish dreams. 

1 Game : sport, object of ridicule. 



146 MARMION. CANTO IV. 

XIX. 

' In vain,' said he, ' to rest I spread 

My burning limbs, and couched my head ; 

Fantastic thoughts returned, 390 

And, by their wild dominion led, 

My heart within me burned. 
So sore was the delirious goad, 
I took my steed and forth I rode. 
And, as the moon shone bright and cold, 395 

Soon reached the camp upon the wold.^ 
The southern entrance I passed through. 
And halted, and my bugle blew. 
Methought an answer met my ear, — 
Yet was the blast so low and drear 400 

So hollow, and so faintly blown, 
It might be echo of my own. 



XX. 

Thus judging, for a little space 
I listened ere I left the place. 

But scarce could trust my eyes, 405 

Nor yet can think they serve me true. 
When sudden in the ring I view. 
In form distinct of shape and hue, 

A mounted champion rise. — 
I've fought, Lord-Lion, many a day, 410 

In single fight and mixed affray. 
And ever, I myself ma}r^ay, 

Have borne me as a knight ; 

1 Wold : here a low range of hills. 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. 147 

But when this unexpected foe 

Seemed starting from the gulf below, — 415 

I care not though the truth I show, — 

I trembled with affright ; 
And as I placed in rest my spear, 
My hand so shook for very fear, 

I scarce could couch it right. 420 

XXI. 

' Why need my tongue the issue tell ? 
We ran our course, — my charger fell ; — 
What could he 'gainst the shock of hell ? 

I rolled upon the plain. 
High o'er my head with threatening hand 425 

The spectre shook his naked brand, — 

Yet did the worst remain : 
My dazzled eyes I upward cast, — 
Not opening hell itself could blast 

Their sight like what I saw ! 430 

Full on his face the moonbeam strook ! — 
A face could never be mistook I 
I knew the stern vindictive look, 

And held my breath for awe. 
I saw the face of one who, fled 435 

To foreign climes, has long been dead, — 

I well believe the last ; 
For ne'er from visor raised did stare 
A human warrior with a glare 

So grimly and so ghast. 440 

Thrice o'er my head he shook the blade ; 
But when to good Saint George I prayed, — 



148 MARMION. 



CANTO IV. 



The first time e'er I asked his aid, — 

He plunged it in the sheath, 
And, on his courser mounting light, 445 

He seemed to vanish from my sight : 
The moonbeam drooped, and deepest night 

Sunk down upon the heath. — 
'Twere long to tell what cause I have 

To know his face that met me there, 450 

Called by his hatred from the grave 

To cumber upper air ; 
Dead or alive, good cause had he 
To be my mortal enemy.' 

XXII. 

Marvelled Sir David of the Mount ; 455 

Then, learned in story, gan^ recount 

Such chance had happed'^ of old, 
When once, near Norham, there did fight 
A spectre fell of fiendish might, 
In likeness of a Scottish knight, 460 

With Brian Bulmer bold. 
And trained 3 him nigh to disallow* 
The aid of his baptismal vow. 
' And such a phantom, too, 'tis said. 
With Highland broadsword, targe, and plaid, 465 

And fingers red with gore. 
Is seen in Rothiemurcus ^ glade. 
Or where the sable pine-trees shade 

1 Gan : began. s Trained : tempted. 

2 Happed : happened. ^ Disallow : reject. 

5 Kothiemurcus : the great fir forest of Rothiemurcus, on the river Spey, 
in the Scottish Highlands. The other places named are all in that vicinity- 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. 149 

Dark Tomantoul, and Auclmaslaid, 

Dromouclity, or Glenmore. 470 

And yet, whate'er such legends say 
Of warlike demon, ghost, or fay, 

On mountain, moor, or plain. 
Spotless in faith, in bosom bold. 
True son of chivalry should hold 475 

These midnight terrors vain ; 
For seldom have such spirits power 
To harm, save in the evil hour 
When guilt we meditate within 
Or harbor unrepented sin.' — 480 

Lord Marmion turned him half aside. 
And twice to clear his voice he tried, 

Then pressed Sir David's hand, — 
But nought, at length, in answer said ; 
And here their further converse stayed, 485 

Each ordering that his band 
Should bownie ^ them with the rising day. 
To Scotland's camp to take their way, — 

Such was the king's command. 

XXIII. 

Early they took Dun-Edin's^ road, 490 

And I could trace each step they trode ; 

Hill, brook, nor dell, nor rock, nor stone, 

Lies on the path to me unknown. 

Much might it boast of storied lore ; 

But, passing such digression o'er, 495 

1 Bowne : make ready. 

2 Dun-Edin : the ancient name of Edinburgh. 



150 MARMION. CANTO IV. 

Suffice it that their route was laid 

Across the furzy^ hills of Braid.^ 

They passed the glen and scanty rill, 

And climbed the opposing bank, until 

They gained the top of Blackford Hill.^ 500 

XXIV. 

Blackford! on whose uncultured breast. 

Among the broom ^ and thorn and Avhin,^ 
A truant-boy, I sought the nest. 
Or listed, as I lay at rest. 

While rose on breezes thin 505 

The murmur of the city crowd. 
And, from his steeple jangling loud, 

Saint Giles's^ mingling din. 
Now, from the summit to the plain, 
Waves all the hill with yellow grain ; 510 

And o'er the landscape as I look. 
Nought do I see unchanged remain. 

Save the rude cliffs and chiming brook. 
To me they make a heavy moan 
Of early friendships past and gone. 515 

1 Furzy : covered with furze, or brambles. 

2 Braid (see note on " Borough-moor," p. 140). 

3 Blackford Hill : it is about two miles south of Edinburgh, and com- 
mands a fine view of the city and surrounding country. 

■* Broom : a low, shrubby, prickly plant, bearing beautiful yellow flowers. 

5 Whin : a species of furze, or bramble, same as gorse. 

c Saint Giles : this is the oldest, and, in many respects, the most beauti- 
ful, church in the metropolis of Scotland. It is sometimes called "the 
St. Paul's of Edinburgh." It was from Ihe pulpit of St. Giles that John 
Knox, the Reformer, thundered against the Church of Rome; and it was 
here that Jenny Geddes threw her stool at the minister's head when he 
tried to introduce the Episcopal service-book. 



CANTO IV. 



THE CAMP. 151 



XXV. 



But different far the change has been, 

Since Marmion from the crown 
Of Blackford saw that martial scene 

Upon the bent so brown : 
Thousand pavilions,^ white as snow, 520 

Spread all the Borough-moor below, 

Upland, and dale, and down. 
A thousand did I say? I ween. 
Thousands on thousands there were seen. 
That checkered all the heath between 525 

The streamlet and the town. 
In crossing ranks extending far. 
Forming a camp irregular ; 
Oft giving way where still there stood 
Some relics of the old oak wood, 530 

That darkly huge did intervene 
And tamed the glaring white with green : 
In these extended lines there lay 
A martial kingdom's vast array. 

XXVI. 

For from Hebudes,^ dark with rain, 535 

To eastern Lodon's^ fertile plain, 

And from the southern RedsAvire * edge ^ 

1 Pavilions : tents. 

2 Hebudes ; the Latin name of the Hebrides. 

3 Lodon : Lothian, a district south of the Firth of Forth. It formerly 
comprised Haddington, Edinburgh, and Linlithgow, called respectively 
East, Mid, and West Lothian. 

* Redswire : on Carter's Fell, one of the Cheviot Hills. 
5 Edge : the side of a hill or ridge. 



152 MARMION. 



CANTO IV. 



To furthest Rosse's ^ rocky ledge, 

From west to east, from south to north, 

Scotland sent all her warriors forth. 540 

Marmion might hear the mingled hum 

Of myriads up the mountain come, — 

The horses' tramp and tinkling clank. 

Where chiefs reviewed their vassal rank. 

And charger's shrilling neigh, — 545 

And see the shifting lines advance. 
While frequent flashed from shield and lance 

The sun's reflected ray. 



XXVII. 

Thin curling in the morning air. 

The wreaths of failing smoke declare 550 

To embers now the brands decayed 

Where the night-watch their fires had made. 

They saw, slow rolling on the plain. 

Full many a baggage-cart and wain,^ 

And dire artillery's clumsy car, . 555 

By sluggish oxen tugged to war ; 

And there were Borthwick's Sisters Seven,^ 

And culverins* which France had given. 

Ill-omened gift ! the gun's remain 

The conqueror's spoil on Flodden plain. 560 



1 Eosse : Ross-shire, in Northern Scotland ; the rocky western coast is 
especially wild and grand. 

2 Wain: a wagon. 

3 Borthwick's Sisters Seven: seven cannon, cast, says Scott, by a per- 
son named Borthwick. 

4 Culverins : long, slender cannon. 



CANTO IV. THE CAMP. 153 

xxvin. 

Nor marked they less where in the air 
A thousand streamers flaunted fair ; 
Various in shape, device, and hue. 
Green, sanguine,^ purple, red, and blue, 
Broad, narrow, swallow-tailed, and square, 565 

Scroll,^ pennon, pencil, bandrol, there 

O'er the pavilions flew. 
Highest and midmost, was descried 
The royal banner floating wide ; 

The staff, a pine-tree, strong and straight, 
Pitched deeply in a massive stone, 
Which still in memory is shown, 
Yet bent beneath the standard's weight, 
Whene'er the western wind unrolled 
With toil the huge and cumbrous fold, 
And gave to view the dazzling field, 
W^here in proud Scotland's royal shield 
The ruddy lion ramped ^ in gold. 



XXIX. 



570 



575 



Lord Marmion viewed the landscape bright, — 
He viewed it with a chief's delight, — 580 

Until within him burned his heart. 
And lightning from his eye did part, 

1 Sanguine : blood color. 

2 Scroll, etc. : different kinds of flags, to designate different degrees 
of rank. 

3 Ramped : in heraldy, a lion is rampant when he stands upright (prop- 
erly, on one foot), in an attitude of attack. The ancient Scottish banner 
had a rampant lion in bright red on a gold ground. 



154 MARMION. 



CANTO IV, 



As on the battle-day ; 

Such glance did falcon never dart 

When stooping on his prey. 585 

' Oh ! well, Lord-Lion, hast thou said, 
Thy king from warfare to dissuade 

Were but a vain essay ; 
For, by Saint George, were that host mine, 
Not power infernal nor divine 590 

Should once to peace my soul incline. 
Till I had dimmed their armor's shine 

In glorious battle-fray ! ' 
Answered the bard, of milder mood : 
' Fair is the sight, — and yet 'twere good 595 

That kings would think withal, 
When peace and wealth their land has blessed, 
'Tis better to sit still at rest 

Than rise, perchance to fall.' 

XXX. 

Still on the spot Lord Marmion stayed, 600" 

For fairer scene he ne'er surveyed. 

When sated with the martial show 

That peopled all the plain below^. 

The wandering eye could o'er it go. 

And mark the distant city glow 605 

With gloomy splendor red ; 
For on the smoke-wreaths, huge and slow 
That round her sable turrets flow. 

The morning-beams were shed, 
And tinged them with a lustre proud, 610 

Like that which streaks a thunder-cloud. 



o IV. THE CAMP. 155 

Such clusky grandeur clothed the height 
Where the huge castle ^ holds its state, 

And all the steep slope down, 
Whose ridgy back heaves to the sky, 615 

Piled deep and massy, close and high, 

Mine own romantic town ! 
But northward far, with purer blaze, 
On Ochil mountains 2 fell the rays. 
And as each heathy top they kissed, 620 

It gleamed a purple amethyst. 
Yonder the shores of Fife^ you saw, 
Here Preston-Bay* and Berwick-Law;^ 

And, broad between them rolled. 
The gallant Firth ^ the eye might note, 625 

Whose islands on its bosom float. 

Like emeralds chased'' in gold. 
Fitz-Eustace' heart felt closely pent ; 
As if to give his rapture vent. 
The spur he to his charger lent, 630 

And raised his bridle hand. 



1 Castle : Edinburgh Castle. It stands on the summit of the central hill 
of Edinburgh, and covers an area of about six acres. Tradition represents 
the castle-rock, or hill, as having been fortified more than a thousand years 
ago ; though a part of the present pile was built by Mary, Queen of Scots, 
as a royal palace, in 1565. 

2 Ochil: a range of lofty hills in Perthshire, about twenty miles northwest 
of Edinburgh. 

3 Fife : a county north of Edinburgh, on the shores of the Firth of 
Forth. 

4 Preston-Bay : Preston is in Haddingtonshire, east of Edinburgh. The 
Bay may be on the Firth of Forth : it is not found in the Ordnance Gazetteer 
of Scotland. 

5 Berwick-La-w : Berwick Hill, a height just south of North Berwick. 
e Firth : the Firth of Forth. 

' Chased : set. 



156 MARMION. 



CANTO IV. 



And making demi-volt^ in air, 

Cried, ' Where's the coward that woukl not dare 

To fight for such a land ! ' 
The Lindesay smiled his joy to see, 635 

Nor Marmion's frown repressed his glee. 



XXXI. 

Thus while they looked, a flourish proud. 
Where mingled trump, and clarion loud, 

And fife, and kettle-drum. 
And sackbut^ deep, and psaltery,^ 640 

And war-pipe with discordant cry, 
And cymbal clattering to the sky. 
Making wild music bold and high. 

Did up the mountain come ; 
The whilst the bells with distant chime 645 

Merrily tolled the hour of prime,* 

And thus the Lindesay spoke : 
' Thus clamor still the w^ar-notes when 
The king to mass his way has ta'en, 
Or to Saint Catherine's of Sienne,^ 650 

Or Cliapel of Saint Rocque.^ 
To you they speak of martial fame, 

1 Demi-volt : a movement to which a horse is trained, in which he makes 
a half-turn with the forelegs raised. 

2 Sackbut : a kind of trumpet. 

s Psaltery : a musical instrument, resembling a harp. 
'I Prime : early morning prayers. ^ 

5 Saint Catherine's of Sienne : outside the walls of Edinburgh there 
formerly stood a convent dedicated to St. Catherine of Sienna. 

6 Saint Eocque : this chapel stood on the west end of Borough-moor, 
where the king had his camp. 



CANTO IV. 



THE CAMP. 157 



But me remind of peaceful game, 

When blither was their cheer, 
Thrilling in Falkland-woods^ the air, 655 

In signal none his steed should spare. 
But strive which foremost might repair 

To the downfall of the deer. 



XXXII. 

' Nor less,' he said, ' when looking forth 

I view yon Empress of the North ^ 660 

Sit on her hilly throne. 
Her palace's imperial bowers, 
Her castle, j)roof to hostile powers, 
Her stately halls and holy towers — 

Nor less,' he said, ' I moan 665 

To think what woe mischance may bring, 
And how these merry bells may ring 
The death-dirge of our gallant king. 
Or with their larum^ call 

The burghers'^ forth to watch and ward,^ 670 

'Gainst Southern^ sack and fires to guard 

Dun-Edin's leaguered'' wall. — 
But not for my presaging^ thought. 
Dream conquest sure or cheaply bought ! 

Lord Marmion, I say nay : 675 

1 Falkland-'woods : this was a royal hunting forest in Fifeshire, about 
twenty-five miles north of Edinburgh. 

2 Empress of the North : Edinburgh. 

3 Larum : alarm. ^ Burghers : citizens. 

5 Watch and ward : to keep watch day and night. 

6 Southern : English. '' Leaguered : besieged. 
8 Presaging : foreboding, foretelling. 



158 MARMION. 



CANTO IV. 



God is the guider of the field, 

He breaks the clianipion's spear and shield, — 

But thou thyself shalt say. 
When joins yon host in deadly stowre,^ 
That England's dames must weep in bower, 680 

Her monks the death-mass ^ sing ; 
For never saw'st thou such a power 

Led on by such a king.' 
And now, down winding to the plain. 
The barriers of the camp they gain, 685 

And there they make a stay. — 
There stays the Minstrel, till he fling 
His hand o'er every Border string. 
And fit his harp the pomp to sing 
Of Scotland's ancient court and king, 690 

In the succeeding lay. 

1 Stowre : battle. 

2 Death-mass : death service. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO FIFTH. 

To GEOKGE ELLIS,i Esq. 

Edinburgh, 

When dark December glooms the day, 

And takes our autumn joys away ; 

When short and scant the sunbeam throws 

Upon the weary waste of snows 

A cold and j)rofitless regard, 5 

Like patron on a needy bard ; 

When sylvan occupation's done, 

And o'er the chimney rests the gun, 

And hang in idle trophy near, 

The game-pouch, fishing-rod, and spear ; lo 

When wiry terrier, rough and grim. 

And greyhound, with his length of limb, 

And pointer, now employed no more. 

Cumber our parlor's narrow floor ; 

When in his stall the impatient steed 15 

Is long condemned to rest and feed ; 

When from our snow-encircled home 

Scarce cares the hardiest step to roam, 

1 George Ellis, Esq. : an English scholar and writer (1753-1815), and an 
intimate friend of Scott's. On his visits to Loudon, Scott was accustomed 
to stay with Ellis. He says of him : " Mr. Ellis was the finest converser 1 
ever knew; his patience and good breeding made me often ashamed of 
myself going off at score {i.e. starting off suddenly) upon some favorite 
topic." 

(159) 



160 MARMION. 

Since path is none, save that to bring 

The needful water from the spring ; 20 

When wrinkled news-page, thrice conned o'er, 

Beguiles the dreary hour no more, 

And darkling ^ politician, crossed,^ 

Inveighs against the lingering post. 

And answering housewife sore complains 25 

Of carriers' ^ snow-impeded wains ; — 

When such the country-cheer, I come 

Well pleased to seek our city home ; 

For converse and for books to change 

The Forest's melancholy range, 30 

And welcome with renewed delight 

The busy day and social night. 

Not here need my desponding rhyme 
Lament the ravages of time. 

As erst by Newark's riven towers, 35 

And Ettrick stripped of forest bowers. 
True, Caledonia's Queen ^ is changed 
Since on her dusky summit ranged. 
Within its steepy limits pent 

By bulwark, line, and battlement, 40 

And flanking towers and laky flood, 
Guarded and garrisoned she stood, 
Denying entrance or resort 

1 Darkling : in the dark as to political events, because no news from 
London is received. 

2 Crossed : thwarted, disappointed,^ ^ 

3 Carriers' : the word corresponds to our expressmen. 

4 Caledonia's Queen: i.e. Scotland's Queen, Edinburgh. The Old Town 
of Edinburgh, says Scott, was secured on the north side by a lake, now 
drained, and on the south by a wall. • 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO V. 161 

Save at each tall embattled port,^ 

Above whose arch, suspended, hung 45 

Portcullis spiked with iron prong. 

That long is gone, — but not so long 

Since, early closed and opening late, 

Jealous revolved the studded gate,^ 

Whose task, from eve to morning tide, 50 

A wicket ^ churlishly supplied. 

Stern then and steel-girt was thy brow, 

Dun-Edin ! Oh, how altered now. 

When safe amid thy mountain court 

Thou sitt'st, like empress at her sport, 55 

And liberal, unconfined, and free. 

Flinging thy white arms to the sea. 

For thy dark cloud, with umbered * lower,^ 

That hung o'er cliff and lake and tower, 

Thou gleam'st against the western ray 60 

Ten thousand lines of brighter day ! 

Not she ^ the championess of old. 
In Spenser's magic tale enrolled, 
She for the charmed spear renowned, 

1 Embattled port : gate with battlements. 

2 Studded gate : a ponderous gate, studded with large nails, in the wall 
of the city. At night this gate was locked and guarded ; admission then 
could only be obtained through a small door, or " wicket," in the gate, and 
even tliat was opened "churlishly" (i.e. with reluctant ill-will), after much 
questioning on the part of the gate-keeper. 

3 Wicket (see note above on " Studded Gate "). 

4 Umbered: dark, shadowed. 

5 Lower: gloomy or frowning aspect. 

6 She : Britomart, a "lady knight" in Spenser's Faerie Queene, Book 
III., Canto IX. She represents Charity, and is armed with a magic spear 
which nothing can resist. 



162 MAKMION. 

Which forced each knight to kiss the ground, — 65 

Not she more changed, when, placed at rest. 

What time she was Malbecco's ^ guest. 

She gave to flow her maiden vest; 

When, from the corselet's ^ grasp relieved, 

Free to the sight her bosom heaved : 70 

Sweet was her blue eye's modest smile. 

Erst hidden by the aventayle,^ 

And down her shoulders graceful rolled 

Her locks profuse of paly gold. 

They who whilom in midnight fight 75 

Had marvelled at her matchless might. 

No less her maiden charms approved, 

But looking liked, and liking loved. 

The sight could jealous pangs beguile. 

And charm Malbecco's cares awhile ; 80 

And he, the wandering Squire of Dames,* 

Forgot his Columbella's^ claims. 

And passion, erst unknown, could gain 

The breast of blunt Sir Satyrane ; ^ 

Nor durst light Faridell ' advance, 85 

Bold as he was, a looser glance. 

She charmed, at once, and tamed the heart. 

Incomparable Britomart ! 

1 Malbecco : a jealous character in the Faerie Queene. 

2 Corselet : sleeveless armor, protecting the trunk of the body. 

3 Aventayle : the movable front of a helmet. 

4 Squire of Dames : a beau, a gallant. 

sColumbella: the Squire of Dames had plighted his love to "fairs 
Columbell" {Faerie Qveene, III., VIT;^^!). 

6 Sir Satyrane : a knight in the Faerie Queene. (Book III., VII., 30.) 

" The good Sir Satyrane 
That ranngd ahrode to seeke adventures wilde." 
'' Paridell : a fickle and licentious character in the Faerie Queene. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO V. 163 

So thou, fair City ! disarrayed 
Of battled wall and rampart's aid, 90 

As stately seem'st, but lovelier far 
Than in that panoply ^ of war. 
Nor deem that from thy fenceless ^ throne 
Strength and security are flown ; 
Still as of yore. Queen of the North ! 95 

Still canst thou send thy children forth. 
Ne'er readier at alarm-bell's call 
Thy burghers rose to man thy wall 
Than now, in danger, shall be thine. 
Thy dauntless voluntary line ; 100 

For fosse ^ and turret proud to stand, 
Their breasts the bulwarks of the land. 
Thy thousands, trained to martial toil, 
Full red would stain their native soil. 
Ere from thy mural ^ crown ^ there fell 105 

The slightest knosp ^ or pinnacle. 
And if it come, as come it may, 
Dun-Edin ! that eventful day, 
Renowned for hospitable deed, 
That virtue much with Heaven may plead, no 

In patriarchal times '' whose care 
Descending angels deigned to share ; 
That claim may wrestle blessings down 

1 Panoply: comiDlete armor. 2 fenceless : defenceless. 

3 Fosse : a moat, or ditch, of defence. 

4 Mural : pertaining to a wall. 

5 Mural crown : referring, apparently, to Edinburgh Castle, still the 
city's crown, and formerly the crown or highest point of the city wall as 
well. 

6 Enosp : an architectural ornament, resembling a bud. 
' Fatriarclial times: referring to Genesis xviii.-xix. 



164 MARMION. 

On those who fight for the Good Town, 

Destined in every age to be 115 

Refuge of injured royalty ; 

Since first, Avhen conquering York ^ arose, 

To Henry ^ meek slie gave rej)ose. 

Till late, with wonder, grief, and awe, 

Great Bourbon's ^ relics sad she saw. 120 

Truce to ^ these thoughts ! — for, as they rise. 
How gladly I avert mine eyes, 
Bodings, or true or false, to change 
For Fiction's fair romantic range. 
Or for Tradition's dubious light, 125 

That hovers 'twixt the day and night : 
Dazzling alternately and dim. 
Her wavering lamp I'd rather trim. 
Knights, squires, and lovely dames to see, 
Creation of my fantasy, 130 

Than gaze abroad on reeky ^ fen. 
And make of mists invading men. — 
Who loves not more the night of June 
Than dull December's gloomy noon ? 
The moonlight than the fog of frost? 135 

And can we say which cheats the most ? 

1 York : Edward IV. of England, son of the Duke of York. In the Civil 
Wars of the Roses, between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, 
Henry VI., who represented the latter, fled, with his queen and son, to 
Scotland after his defeat at Towton. 2 Henry: Henry VI. 

3 Bourbon: in 1796, says Scott, the exiled Count d' Artois, afterwards 
Charles X. of France, took up his residence in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. 
When, in 1830, he was driven from his throne by the revolution of July, 
he again sought refuge in the ancient palace of the Stuarts. 

4 Truce to : cessation to. ^ Reeky : here, foggy or misty. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO V. 165 

But who shall teach my harp to gain 
A sound of the romantic strain 
Whose Anglo-Norman ^ tones whilere ^ 
Could win the royal Henry's ear, 140 

Famed Beauclerc ^ called, for that he loved 
The minstrel and his lay approved ? 
Who shall these lingering notes redeem. 
Decaying on Oblivion's stream ; 
Such notes as from the Breton* tongue 145 

Marie ^ translated, Blondel *^ sung ? — 
Oh ! born Time's ravage to repair. 
And make the dying Muse thy care 
Who, when his scythe her hoary foe 
Was poising for the final blow, 150 

The weapon from his hand could wring, 
And break his glass " and shear his wing, 
And bid, reviving in his strain. 
The gentle poet live again ; 

Thou, who canst give to lightest lay 155 

An unpedantic moral gay, 
Nor less the dullest theme bid flit 

1 Anglo-Norman : partly English, partly Norman. 

2 Whilere : a short time ago. 

3 Beauclerc: Fine Scholar, a name given to Henry I. of England, be- 
cause in an unscholarly age, when kings had but little education, he 
possessed literary tastes and showed an interest in books and learning. 

4 Breton: relating to Brittany, France. 

5 Marie: a French woman in the reign of Henry HI. (1216-1272), who 
translated twelve lays or poetical stories for the king. 

Blondel : a celebrated French minstrel, who became strongly attached 
to Richard I. of England, When the king was a prisoner in Germany, 
Blondel is said to have discovered his master by travelling through Ger- 
many singing one of the king's favorite songs under the windows of each 
castle, until at length he was heard and answered by Richard. 

" Glass : hour-glass. 



166 MARMION. 

On wings of unexpected wit ; 

In letters as in life approved, 

Example honored and beloved, — i6o 

Dear Ellis ! to the bard impart 

A lesson of thy magic art. 

To win at once the head and heart, — 

At once to charm, instruct, and mend. 

My guide, my pattern, and my friend ! 165 

Such minstrel lesson to bestow 
Be long thy pleasing task, — but, oh ! 
No more by thy example teach 
What few can practise, all can preach, — 
With even patience to endure 170 

Lingering disease and painful cure. 
And boast affliction's pangs subdued 
By mild and manly fortitude. 
Enough, the lesson has been given : 
Forbid the repetition. Heaven ! 175 

Come listen, then ! for thou hast known 
And loved the Minstrel's varying tone. 
Who, like his Border sires of old. 
Waked a wild measure rude and bold. 
Till Windsor's oaks ^ and Ascot plain 180 

With wonder heard the Northern strain. 
Come listen ! bold in thy applause. 
The bard shall scorn pedantic laws ; 
And, as the ancient art could stain 



1 "Windsor's oaks: Mr. Ellis lived at Sunuing-hill near Windsor. Ascot 
Heath is about six miles from Windsor. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO V, 167 

Achievements ^ on the storied 2 pane, 185 

Irregularly traced and planned, 

But yet so glowing and so grand, 

So shall he strive, in changeful hue. 

Field, feast, and combat to renew, 

And loves, and arms, and harpers' glee, 190 

And all the pomp of chivalry. 

^ Achievements : either representations of heroic deeds or coats-of-arms. 
■ Storied: painted with scenes or stories from history. 



Canto f^iftft. 

THE COUKT. 



The train has left the hills of Braid ; 
The barrier guard have open made — 
So Lindesay bade — the palisade 

That closed the tented ground ; 
Their men tl^e warders backward drew, 5 

And carried pikes as they rode through 

Into its ample bound. 
Fast ran the Scottish warriors there, 
Upon the Southern band to stare, 
And envy with their wonder rose, lo 

To see such well-appointed foes ; 
Such length of shafts,^ such mighty bows, 
So huge that many simply thought 
But for a vaunt ^ such weapons wrought. 
And little deemed their force to feel 15 

Through links of mail and plates of steel 
When, rattling upon Flodden vale. 
The cloth-yard arrows flew like hail. 

II. 

Nor less did Marmion's skilful view 

Glance every line and squadron ^ through, 20 

1 Shafts : arrows. 3 Squadron : a body of troops. 

2 Vaunt : idle display. 

(168) 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 169 

And much he marvelled one small land 
Could marshal forth such various band ; 

For men-at-arms were here, 
Heavily sheathed in mail and plate, 
Like iron towers for strength and weight, 25 

On Flemish steeds of bone and height, 

AVith battle-axe and spear. 
Young knights and squires, a lighter train. 
Practised their chargers on the plain. 
By aid of leg, of hand, and rein, 30 

Each warlike feat to show. 
To pass, to wheel, the croupe ^ to gain. 
And high curvet,^ that not in vain 
The sword-sway ^ might descend amain 

On foeman's casque below. 35 

He saw the hardy burghers there 
March armed on foot with faces bare, 

For visor they wore none. 
Nor waving plume, nor crest of knight; 
But burnished were their corselets bright, 40 

Their brigan tines * and gorgets ^ light 

Like very silver shone. 
Long pikes they had for standing fight. 

Two-handed swords ^ they wore. 
And many wielded mace ^ of weight, 45 

And bucklers bright they bore. 

1 Croupe: rump of a horse. 2 High curvet: a kind of high leap. 

3 Sword -sway : sword-stroke or blow. 

"* Brigantines : the body-armor of a foot-soldier — jackets quilted with 
iron rings or plates. 

5 Gorgets : armor for the throat and upper part of the chest. 

<5 Two-handed swords : very heavy swords which required both hands 
*^ use. T Mace : a club with a metal head. 



170 MARMION. CANTO V. 

III. 

On foot the yeoman too, but dressed 
In his steel-jack,i a swarthy vest, 

With iron quilted well ; 
Each at his back — a slender store — 50 

His forty days' provision bore, 

As feudal ^ statutes tell. 
His arms were halbert, axe, or spear, 
A crossbow there, a hagbut ^ here, 

A dagger-knife, and brand. 55 

Sober he seemed and sad of cheer,* 
As loath to leave his cottage dear 

And march to foreign strand. 
Or musing who would guide his steer 

To till the fallow ^ land. 60 

Yet deem not in his thoughtful eye 
Did aught of dastard terror lie ; 

More dreadful far his ire 
Than theirs who, scorning danger's name. 
In eager mood to battle came, 65 

Their valor like light straw on flame, 

A fierce but fading fire. 

1 steel-jack : steel-jacket or coat-of-mail. 

2 Feudal : the system of military government based on the holding of 
land from the king on condition of military service. It formerly prevailed 
throughout western Europe. Feudalism formed a huge pyramid, whose 
apex was the king, whose base was the serf — the farm-laborer bound to the 
soil he tilled. Mutual protection bound all together. The lord swore to pro- 
tect his vassal, the vassal swore to fight for his lord. It was a rude system 
of organization, but far better than barbarism. 

3 Hagbut : a long, heavy gun resembling a musket. It was fired from 
a forked rest. 

4 Cheer: countenance. 

5 Fallow : usually, land ploughed but left unseeded ; here, uncultivated. 



THE COURT. 171 



IV. 



Not so the Borderer ^ — bred to war, 
He knew the battle's dm afar, 

And joyed to hear it swell. 70 

His peaceful day was slothful ease ; 
Nor harp nor pipe his ear could please 

Like the loud slogan ^ yell. 
On active steed, with lance and blade. 
The light-armed pricker^ plied his trade, — 75 

Let nobles fight for fame ; 
Let vassals follow where they lead. 
Burghers, to guard their townships, bleed, 

But wars the Borderers' game. 
Their gain, their glory, their delight, 80 

To sleep the day, maraud the night, 

O'er mountain, moss,* and moor ; 
Joyful to fight they took their way, 
Scarce caring who might win the day. 

Their booty was secure. 85 

These, as Lord Marmion's train passed by, 
Looked on at first with careless eye. 
Nor marvelled aught, well taught to know 
The form and force of English bow. 
But when they saw the lord arrayed 90 

In splendid arms and rich brocade,^ 
Each Borderer to his kinsman said, — 



1 Borderer: as the men who lived on the Scottish border were continu- 
ally at strife with the English, they may he said to have been " bred to war." 

-Slog-an: the war-cry. spricker: a light horseman. 

•1 Moss : a peat or turf bog. 

5 Brocade : silk stuff variegated with gold and silver, or ornamented 
with raised flowers and other work. 



172 MAKMION. CANTO V. 

' Hist, Ringan ! seest thou there ! 
Canst guess which road they'll homeward ride ? 
Oh ! could we but on Border side, 95 

By Eusedale glen, or Liddell's tide,^ 

Beset 2 a prize so fair ! 
That fangless Lion,^ too, their guide. 
Might chance to lose his glistering hide ; 
Brown Maudlin* of that doublet pied,^ 100 

Could make a kirtle^ rare.' 



Next, Marmion marked the Celtic race,^ 
Of different language, form, and face, 

A various race of man ; 
Just then the chiefs their tribes arrayed, 105 

And wild and garish^ semblance^ made 
The checkered trews ^^ and belted plaid. 
And varying notes the war-pipes ^^ brayed 

1 Eusedale glen, or Liddell's tide : the Euse and the Liddell are small 
streams flowing into the Esk, a river of Scotland which empties into Solway 
Frith — an inlet of the Irish Sea. 

For a short distance the Liddell forms part of the boundary between 
Scotland and England. 

2 Beset: hem in, get possession of. 

3 Fangless Lion : Sir David Lindesay. See Canto IV., line 153. 

4 Maudlin: a corruption of Magdalen. 

s Pied : variegated, spotted with different colors. 

6 Kirtle : a gown. 

'' Celtic race : the Highlanders of Scotland form part of one of the two 
chief branches of the Celts. The Irish and the Welsh also belong to the 
same race. ~" — -' 

8 Garish : gaudy, showy. 

s Semblance : appearance. 
i*^ Trews : short tartan or checkered trousers ; they leave the knee bare. 

11 War-pipes: bagpipes. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 173 

To every varying clan.^ 
Wild through their red or sable hair no 

Looked out their eyes with savage stare 

On Marmion as he passed ; 
Their legs above the knee were bare ; 
Their frame was sinewy, short, and spare, 

And hardened to the blast; 115 

Of taller race, the chiefs they own 
Were by the eagle's plumage known. 
The hunted red-deer's undressed hide 
Their hairy buskins ^ well supplied ; 
The graceful bonnet^ decked tlieir head; 120 

Back from their shoulders hung the plaid ; 
A broadsword of unwieldy length, 
A dagger proved for edge and strength, 

A studded targe they wore, 
And quivers, bows, and shafts, — but, oh! 125 

Short was the shaft and weak the bow 

To that which England bore. 
The Isles-men* carried at their backs 
The ancient Danish battle-axe. 
They raised a wild and wondering cry, 130 

As Avith his guide rode Marmion by. 
Loud were their clamoring tongues, as when 
The clanging sea-fowl leave the fen. 
And, with their cries discordant mixed. 
Grumbled and yelled the pipes ^ betwixt. 135 

1 Clan : a tribe or body of kinsmen under the lead of a chieftain — the 
chieftain is regarded as representing a common ancestor. 
- Buskins : half-boots or very high shoes or sandals. 

3 Bonnet : here, a kind of knitted woollen cap. 

4 Isles-men : the men from the islands bordering on the coast of North- 
ern and Northwestern Scotland. 5 Pipes : bagpipes. 



174 MARMION. CANTO V. 

VI. 

Thus through the Scottish camp they passed, 

And reached the city gate at last, 

Where all around, a wakeful guard, 

Armed burghers kept their watch and ward. 

Well had they cause of jealous fear, 140 

When lay encamped in field so near 

The Borderer and the Mountaineer. 

As through the bustling streets they go, 

All was alive with martial show ; 

At every turn with dinning clang 145 

The armorer's anvil clashed and rang, 

Or toiled the swarthy smith to wheel ^ 

The bar that arms the charger's heel, 

Or axe or falchion ^ to the side 

Of jarring grindstone was applied. 150 

Page, groom, and squire, with hurrying pace, 

Through street and lane and market-place. 

Bore lance or casque or sword ; 
While burghers, with important face. 

Described each new-come lord, 155 

Discussed his lineage, told his name. 
His folio wing,^ and his warlike fame. 
The Lion led to lodging meet,* 
Which high o'erlooked the crowded street ; 

There must the baron rest 160 

1 Wheel : if charger is used here of the war-horse (its usual definition), 
then this word means to bend the iron for the horse-shoe ; but if charger 
is used (as it may be) of the rider, then.it signifies to furnish the bar of the 
spur with a little wheel armed with sharp points. 

^ Falchion : a broad, short sword with a point curving slightly upward. 

3 Following : feudal retainers, tenants bound to follow their lord to 
battle. 4 Meet : Ht, appropriate. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 175 

Till past the hour of vesper tide,^ 
And then to Holy-Rood must ride, — 

Such was the king's behest. 
Meanwhile the Lion's care assigns 
A banquet rich and costly wines 165 

To Marmion and his train ; 
And when the appointed hour succeeds, 
The baron dons ^ his peaceful weeds,^ 
And following Lindesay as he leads. 

The palace halls they gain. 170 

VII. 

Old Holy-Rood rung merrily 

That night with wassail, mirth, and glee : 

King James within her princely bower '^ 

Feasted the chiefs of Scotland's power. 

Summoned to spend the parting hour; 175 

For he had charged that his array 

Should southward march by break of day. 

Well loved that splendid monarch aye^ 

The banquet and the song, 
By day the tourney,^ and by night 180 

The merry dance, traced fast and light. 
The maskers^ quaint,^ the pageant^ bright, 

1 Vesper tide : vesper time, the hour of evening religious services. 

2 Dons : (contraction of do on) puts on. 

3 Weeds : garments, Scott here contrasts the word with weeds in the 
(unusual) sense of armor. See note 7, p. 13. 

4 Bower : here, used for palace. ^ Aye : ever. 

6 Tourney : tournament or mock battle between mounted knights. 
" Maskers : those taking a part in a masked ball or in a pageant. 
8 Quaint: fanciful, odd. 
'•> Pageant : here, any spectacle or theatrical show. 



176 MAKMION. CANTO V. 

The revel loud and long. 
This feast outshone his banquets past ; 
It was his blithest 1 — and his last. 185 

The dazzling lamps from gallery gay 
Cast on the court a dancing ray ; 
Here to the harp did minstrels sing, 
There ladies touched a softer string ; 
With long-eared cap^ and motley vest, 190 

The licensed fool ^ retailed his jest ; 
His magic tricks the juggler plied ; 
At dice and draughts* the gallants^ vied; 
While some, in close recess apart, 
Courted the ladies of their heart, 195 

Nor courted them in vain ; 
For often in the parting hour 
Victorious Love asserts his power 

O'er coldness and disdain ; 
And ilinty is her heart can view 200 

To battle march a lover true — 
Can hear, perchance, his last adieu, 

Nor own her share of pain. 



VIII. 

Through this mixed crowd of glee and game 

The king to greet Lord Marmion came, 205 

1 Blithest : merriest. 

2 Long-eared cap : a cap having an imitation of asses' ears on it. 

3 Licensed fool : a professional fo^ir^r jester. It was formerly custom- 
ary for kings and noblemen to keep these " fools," and they were allowed 
the largest license of speech. ^ Draughts : the game of checkers. 

5 Gallants : men of rank and fashion. 



CANTO V. 



THE COURT. 177 



While, reverent, all made room. 
All easy task it was, I trow, 
King James's manly form to know, 
Although, liis courtesy to show. 
He doffed 1 to Marmion bending low 210 

His broidered cap and plume. 
For royal were his garb and mien : 

His cloak of crimson velvet piled,^ 

Trimmed with the fur of marten wild. 
His vest of changeful satin sheen,^ 215 

The dazzled eye beguiled ; 
His gorgeous collar hung adown. 
Wrought with the badge of Scotland's crown, 
The thistle brave of old renown ; 
His trusty blade, Toledo* right,^ 220 

Descended from a baldric^ bright; 
White were his buskins, on the heel 
His spurs inlaid of gold and steel ; 
His bonnet, all of crimson fair. 

Was buttoned with a ruby rare : 225 

And Marmion deem'd he ne'er had seen 
A prince of such a noble mien. 

IX. 

The monarch's form was middle size, 
For feat of strength or exercise 

1 Doffed : (contraction of do off) removed. 

2 Piled : having a pile or nap. 

3 Sheen: shining, splendid. 

4 Toledo : the best swords were then made at Toledo, Spain. 

5 Right : genuine. 

6 Baldric : a broad shoulder-belt coming down to the waist or below it. 



178 MARMION. CANTO V. 

Shaped in proportion fair ; 230 

And hazel was his eagle eye, 
And auburn of the darkest dye 

His short curled beard and hair. 
Light was his footstep in the dance, 

And firm his stirrup in the lists ; 235 

And, oh ! he had that merry glance 

That seldom lady's heart resists. 
Lightly from fair to fair he flew, 
And loved to plead, lament, and sue, — 
Suit lightly won and short-lived pain, 240 

"For monarchs seldom sigh in vain. 

I said he joyed in banquet bower ; 
But, mid his mirth, 'twas often strange 
How suddenly his cheer would change. 
His look o'ercast and lower, 245 

If in a sudden turn he felt 
The pressure of his iron belt,^ 
That bound his breast in penance pain, 
In memory of his father slain. 

Even so 'twas strange how evermore, 250 

Soon as the passing pang was o'er. 
Forward he rushed with double glee 
Into the stream of revelry. 
Thus dim-seen object of affright 
Startles the courser in his flight, 255 

And half he halts, half springs aside, 

1 Iron belt : in 1488 a confederacy of nobles rose in rebellion against 
James III. They placed bis son, Prince James, at their head, and having 
conquered the king in battle, he was soon afterward murdered. 

As penance for his part in this act, which brought him to the throne, 
James IV. was accustomed to wear an iron belt to which, says Scott, he 
" added certain ounces every year that he lived." 



THE COURT. 179 



But feels the quickening spur applied, 
And, straining on the tightened rein, 
Scours doubly swift o'er hill and plain. 



X. 

O'er James's heart, the courtiers say, 260 

Sir Hugh the Heron's wife held sway ; 

To Scotland's court she came 
To be a hostage ^ for her lord. 
Who Cessford's gallant heart had gored, 
And with the king to make accord 265 

Had sent his lovely dame. 
Nor to that lady free alone 
Did the gay king allegiance own ; 

For the fair Queen of France ^ 



1 Hostage : here, captive. According to Scott, Sir Hugh the Heron had 
been iu some sort accessory to the killing of Sir Robert Ker of Cessford. 
For this act Henry, king of England, delivered him up to James, who 
imprisoned him in the fortress of Fastcastle. In 1513 James invaded Eng- 
land, stormed Ford Castle, and took Lady Heron captive. She in turn 
captivated the king by her beauty, and he became her willing slave. She 
is here represented as making "accord," i.e. negotiating with the king for 
her husband's release. 

Scott speaks of Lady Heron or Lady Ford, as she is also called, as the 
wife of Sir Hugh the Heron, mentioned on p. 31 ; but Tytler's History of 
Scotland, V. 69, calls her the wife of Sir William Heron. As Lady Heron 
was not taken prisoner until the campaign beginning August 22, 1513, and 
which ended September 9 in the battle of Flodden and death of James, it is 
evident that the poet does not in this instance adhere to the strict chronol- 
ogy of history, since he makes the lady present with the king at Holyrood 
Palace, to which James does not appear to have returned after the actual 
commencement of hostilities with England. 

2 Queen of France : Anne of Britanny, queen of Louis XH. Henry VHI. 
of England was then at war with France, and on the IGth of August, 1513, 
won the famous "Battle of the Spurs" — so called because the French 
cavalry sought safety by a precipitous flight. The queen sent James a 



180 MARMION. CANTO V. 

Sent him a turquoise ring and glove, 270 

And charged him, as her knight and love. 

For her to break a lance, 
And strike three strokes with Scottish brand. 
And march three miles on Southron land. 
And bid the banners of his band 275 

In English breezes dance. 
And thus for France's queen he drest 
His manly limbs in mailed vest, 
And thus admitted English fair 
His inmost councils still to share, 280 

And thus for both he madly planned 
The ruin of himself and land ! 

And yet, the sooth to tell. 
Nor England's fair nor France's queen 
Were worth one pearl-drop, bright and sheen, 285 

From Margaret's eyes that fell, — 
His own Queen Margaret, who in Lithgow's ^ bower 
All lonely sat and wept the weary hour. 



XI. 

The queen sits lone in Lithgow pile, 

And weeps the weary day 290 

The war against her native soil. 
Her monarch's risk in battle broil, — 
And in gay Holy-Rood the while 
Dame Heron rises with a smile 

Upon the harp to play. 295 

ring, still preserved, it is thought, and a large sum of money to induce him 
to invade the "Southron land," England, and so compel Henry to with- 
draw his forces from France. i Lithgow : Linlithgow Castle. 



V. THE COURT. 181 

Fair was her rounded arm, as o'er 

The strings her fingers flew ; 
And as she touched and tuned them all, 
Ever her bosom's rise and fall 

Was plainer given to view ; 300 

For, all for heat, was laid aside 
Her wimple,^ and her hood untied. 
And first she pitched her voice to sing, 
Then glanced her dark eye on the king, 
And then around the silent ring, 305 

And laughed, and blushed, and oft did say 
Her pretty oath, by yea and nay. 
She could not, would not, durst not play ! 
At length, upon the harp, with glee. 
Mingled with arch simplicity, 310 

A soft yet lively air she rung. 
While thus the wily lady sung : — 



XII. 
LOCHINVAR. 

Oh ! young Lochinvar is come out of the west. 
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best ; 
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none, 315 
He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone. 
So faithful in love and so dauntless in war. 
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. 

1 Wimple : a kind of partial veil. It covered the head, sides of the face, 
and chin. Here, it may mean simply a veil for the face. 



182 MARMION. CANTO V. 

He stayed not for brake ^ and he stopped not for stone, 

He swam the Eske^ river where ford there was none ; 320 

But ere he alighted at Netherby^ gate 

The bride had consented, the gallant came late : 

For a laggard in love and a dastard in war 

Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar. 

So boldly he entered the Netherby Hall, 325 

Among bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all : 
Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword, — 
For the poor craven* bridegroom said never a word, — 
' Oh I come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, 
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?' — 330 

' I long wooed your daughter, my suit you denied ; 
Love swells like the Solway,^ but ebbs like its tide — 
And now am I come, with this lost love of mine. 
To lead but one measure,^ drink one cup of wine. 
There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far, 335 
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar.' 

The bride kissed the goblet ; the knight took it up. 
He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down the cup, 
She looked down to blush, and she looked up to sigh, 
With a smile on her lips and a tear in her eye. 340 

1 Brake : here ground overgrown with brakes and bushes. 

2 Eske : a river on the boundary or border between Scotland and Eng- 
land. It empties into Solway Firth, an estuary of the Irish Sea. 

3 Netherby : Netherby Castle oii the^eastern bank of the Eske, Cumber- 
land, England. 

4 Craven : cowardly. 

5 Swells like the Solway : the high tides in the Solway are one of its 
most remarkable features. ^' Measure : a dance. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 183 

He took her soft hand ere her mother could bar, — 
' Now tread we a measure ! ' said young Lochinvar. 

So stately his form, and so lovely her face. 

That never a hall such a galliard ^ did grace ; 

While her mother did fret, and her father did fume, 345 

And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and 

plume ; 
And the bride-maidens whispered, ' 'Twere better by far 
To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar.' 

One touch to her hand and one word in her ear. 
When they reached the hall-door, and the charger 350 

stood near ; 
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung. 
So light to the saddle before her he sprung ! 
' She is won ! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur ; ^ 
They'll have fleet steeds that follow,' quoth young Loch- 
invar. 

There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the Netherby 355 

clan ; 
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they 

ran : 
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee,^ 
But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see. 
So daring in love and so dauntless in war. 
Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar? 360 



1 Galliard : a gay, lively dance. 

2 Scaur : precipice. 

3 Cannobie Lee : tlie Canuobie meadows in the vicinity of Netherby 
Castle. 



184 MARMION. 



CANTO V. 



XIII. 

The monarch o'er the siren ^ hung, 

And beat the measure as she sung ; 

And, pressing closer and more near, 

He whispered praises in her ear. 

In loud applause the courtiers vied, 365 

And ladies winked and spoke aside. 
The witching dame to Marmion threw 

A glance, where seemed to reign 
The pride that claims applauses due, 
And of her royal conquest too 370 

A real or feigned disdain : 

Familiar was the look, and told 

Marmion and she were friends of old. 

The king observed their meeting eyes 

With something like displeased surprise ; 375 

For monarchs ill can rivals brook. 

Even in a word, or smile, or look. 

Straight took he forth the parchment broad ^ 

Which Marmion's high commission showed : 

' Our Borders sacked ^ by many a raid, 380 

Our peaceful liege-men * robbed,' he said, 

' On day of truce our warden slain. 

Stout Barton killed, his vessels ta'en — 

Unworthy were we here to reign, 

1 Siren: here an enticing or dangerous woman. In Greek mythology 
the sirens were sea-nymphs who enticed sailors to their island by their 
singing, and then destroyed them, 

2 Parchment broad: Rolfe (" The^tujents' Series of Poetry " — i»f«r- 
mion) considers this expression "broad" to refer to the broad-seal of 
Henry VIIL on Marmion's commission. But see note on " Letter broad " 
on p. 204. 

3 Sacked : pillaged. 4 Liege-men : subjects, loyal men. 



3 V. THE COURT. 185 

Should these for vengeance cry in vain ; 385 

Our full defiance, hate, and scorn, 
Our herald has to Henry borne.' 



XIV. 

He paused, and led where Douglas ^ stood 

And with stern eye the pageant viewed ; 

I mean that Douglas, sixth of yore,^ 390 

Who coronet^ of Angus* bore. 

And, when his blood and heart were high. 

Did the third James in camp defy. 

And all his minions^ led to die 

On Lauder's dreary flat.^ 395 

Princes and favorites long grew tame. 
And trembled at the holy name 

Of Archibald Bell-the-Cat ; 
The same who left the dusky vale 
Of Hermitage in Liddisdale,^ 400 

Its dungeons and its towers, 

1 Douglas : Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, who, says Scott, acquired 
the popular name of Bell-the-Cat, because, unlike the mice in the fable, 
none of which dared bell the cat, Douglas boldly headed a movement by 
which certain unworthy favorites of King James III. were seized and 
hanged before his eyes. 

2 Yore : of old time, of long ago. 

3 Coronet : an inferior crown worn by princes and noblemen. 

4 Angus : the first Earl of Douglas married the daughter of the Earl of 
Angus, and the name later became a synonym for Douglas. 

5 Minions : here unworthy favorites or servile dependents. 

6 Lauder's dreary flat : Lauderdale is in Berwickshire about 25 miles 
southeast of Edinburgh. 

'^ Liddisdale: the remains of Hermitage Castle are on the banks of the 
Hermitage water, a branch of the Liddell which flows into the Eske. See 
note on the Eske, p. 182, 



186 MARMION. CANTO X, 

Where Both well's turrets ^ brave the air, 
And Both well bank^ is blooming fair, 

To fix his princely bowers. 
Though now in age he had laid down 405 

His armor for the peaceful gOAvn, 

And for a staff his brand, 
Yet often would flash forth the fire 
That could in youth a monarch's ire 

And minion's pride withstand ; 410 

And even that day at council board, 

Unapt to soothe his sovereign's mood. 

Against the war had Angus stood. 
And chafed his royal lord. 

XV. 

His giant-form, like ruined tower, 415 

Though fallen its muscles' brawny vaunt. 
Huge-boned, and tall, and grim, and gaunt, 

Seemed o'er the gaudy scene to lower ; 
His locks and beard in silver grew. 
His eyebrows kept their sable hue. 420 

Near Douglas when the monarch stood. 
His bitter speech he thus pursued : 
' Lord Marmion, since these letters say 
That in the North you needs must stay 

While slightest hopes of peace remain, 425 

Uncourteous speech it were and stern 

1 Bothwell's turrets : the ruins of Bothwell Castle are still to be seen 
on the banks of the Clyde not far from Glasgow. 

2 Bothwell bank : the banks of the Clyde at this point are celebrated 
for their beauty, and the region is popularly known as "the Garden of 
Scotland." 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 187 

To say — Return to Lindisfarne, 

Until my herald come p.gain. 
Then rest you in Tantallon hold ; ^ 
Your host shall be the Douglas bold, — 430 

A chief unlike his sires of old. 
He wears their motto on his blade, 
Their blazon ^ o'er his towers displayed, 
Yet loves his sovereign to oppose 
More than to face his country's foes. 435 

And, I bethink me, by Saint Stephen, 

But e'en this morn to me was given 
A prize, the lirst fruits of the war, 
Ta'en by a galley from Dunbar, 

A bevy of the maids of heaven. 440 

Under your guard these holy maids 
Shall safe return to cloister shades, 
And, while they at Tantallon stay, 
Requiem ^ for Cochran's soul * may sa}'.' 
And with the slaughtered favorite's name 445 

Across the monarch's brow there came 
A cloud of ire, remorse, and shame. 

1 Tantallon hold : the ruins of Tantallon hold or castle are on the coast 
near North Berwick on the North Sea. They stand on a lofty precipitous 
rock washed on three sides by the waves. The date of the erection of the 
castle is unknown. In 1479 Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus {i.e. Archi- 
bald Bell-the-Cat) , received a grant of it from James III. of Scotland, and 
the bleeding heart of the Douglas arms may still be seen on the crumbling 
stone shield above the entrance. The next Earl of Angus, after he had lost 
favor at court, shut himself up in Tantallon, and defied for a time the whole 
force of the kingdom. The castle was believed to be impregnable, but in 
1G39 the Covenanters did actually "ding doun Tantallon," and left it in 
ruins. 2 Blazon : coat-of-arms. 

3 Requiem : a service for the dead. 

■* Cochran's soul : Cochran, Earl of Mar, was one of the " minions " 
hanged by Archibald Bell-the-Cat. See note on Douglas, p. 185. 



188 MARMION. 



XVI. 



In answer nought could Angus speak, 

His proud heart swelled well-nigh to break ; 

He turned aside, and down his cheek 450 

A burning tear there stole. 
His hand the monarch sudden took. 
That sight his kind heart could not brook : 

' Now, by the Bruce's ^ soul, 
Angus, my hasty speech forgive ! 455 

For sure as doth his spirit live, 
As he said of the Douglas old, 

I well may say of you, — 
That never king did subject hold. 
In speech more free, in war more bold, 460 

More tender and more true ; 
Forgive me, Douglas, once again.' — 
And, while the king his hand did strain, 
The old man's tears fell down like rain. 
To seize the moment Marmion tried, 465 

And whispered to the king aside : 
' Oh ! let such tears unwonted plead 
For respite short from dubious deed ! 
A child will weep a bramble's smart, 
A maid to see her sparrow part, 470 

A stripling for a woman's heart ; 
But woe awaits a country when 
She sees the tears of bearded men. 
Then, oh ! what omen, dark and high. 
When Douglas wets his^Timnly eye ! ' 475 



1 Bruce : to swear by the soul of Bruce was to swear by valor itself. Ed- 
ward I. conquered Scotland, but Bruce won Bannockburn. See note, p. 91. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 189 

xvn. 

Displeased was James that stranger viewed 

And tampered Avith his changing mood. 

' Laugh those that can, weep those that may,' 

Thus did the fiery monarch say, 

* Southward I march by break of day ; 480 

And if within Tantallon strong 

The good Lord Marmion tarries long, 

Perchance our meeting next may fall 

At Tamworth in his castle-hall.' — 

The haughty Marmion felt the taunt, 485 

And answered grave the royal vaunt, 

' Much honored were my humble home. 

If in its halls King James should come ; 

But Nottingham has archers good. 

And Yorkshire men are stern of mood, 490 

Northumbrian prickers wild and rude. 

On Derby Hills the paths are steep, 

Li Ouse and Tyne the fords are deep ; 

And many a banner will be torn, 

And many a knight to earth be borne, 495 

And many a sheaf of arrows spent, 

Ere Scotland's king shall cross the Trent : ^ 

Yet pause, brave prince, while yet you may ! ' — 

The monarch lightly turned away, 

And to his nobles loud did call, 500 

' Lords, to the dance, — a hall I a hall ! ' ^ 

1 The Trent : a river of Central England flowing into the Humber. 
Marmion speaks of it here because a military expedition from Scotland 

would have to cross the Trent in order to strike Tamworth Castle (see 
note 4 on p. 26) in Staffordshire. 

2 A hall : the ancient cry, says Scott, to make room for a dance. 



190 MARMION. CANTO V. 

Himself his cloak and sword flung by, 

And led Dame Heron gallantly ; 

And minstrels, at the royal order, 

Rung out ' Blue Bonnets o'er the Border.' i 505 

XVIII. 

Leave we these revels now to tell 

What to Saint Hilda's maids befell, 

Whose galley, as they sailed again 

To Whitby, by a Scot was ta'en. 

Now at Dun-Edin did they bide 510 

Till James should of their fate decide. 

And soon by his command 
Were gently summoned to prepare 
To journey under Marmion's care. 
As escort honored, safe, and fair, 515 

Again to English land. 
The abbess told her chaplet ^ o'er. 
Nor knew which Saint she should implore ; 
For, when she thought of Constance, sore 

She feared Lord Marmion's mood. 520 

And judge what Clara must have felt ! 
The sword that hung in Marmion's belt 

Had drunk De Wilton's blood. 
Unwittingly ^ King James had given, 

1 "Blue Bonnets o'er the Border": a famous war song; the "blue 
bonnets " were the Scottish soldiers. Scott speaks of them in the lines : 

" England shall many a day 

Tell of the bloody fray, --^ 

When the blue bonnets came over the border." 

2 Chaplet: a string of beads used by Roman Catholics by which to 
" tell " or count their prayers. 

3 Unwittingly : unknowingly. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 191 

As guard to Wliitby's shades, 325 

The man most dreaded under heaven 

Bj these defenceless maids ; 
Yet what petition could avail, 
Or who would listen to the tale 
Of woman, prisoner, and nun, „o 

Mid bustle of a war begun ? 
They deemed it hopeless to avoid 
The convoy 1 of their dangerous guide. 

XIX. 

Their lodging, so the king assigned, 

To Marmion's, as their guardian, joined ; 535 

And thus it fell that, passing nigh. 

The Palmer caught the abbess' eye. 

Who warned liim by a scroll 2 
She had a secret to reveal 
That much concerned the Church's weal 540 

And health of sinner's soul ; 
And, with, deep charge of secrecy. 

She named a place to meet 
Within an open balcony. 
That hung from dizzy pitch and high 545 

Above the stately street. 
To which, as common to each home. 
At night they might in secret come. 

XX. 

At night in secret there they came. 

The Palmer and the holy dame. 550 

1 Convoy : escort. 2 Scroll : here any commuuication in writing. 



192 MARMION. CANTO V. 

The moon among the clouds rode high, 
And all the city hum was by. 
Upon the street, where late before 
Did din of war and warriors roar, 

You might have heard a pebble fall, 555 

A beetle hum, a cricket sing. 
An owlet flap his boding wing 
On Giles's steeple tall. 
The antique buildings, climbing high, 
Whose Gothic frontlets ^ sought the sky, 560 

Were here wrapt deep in shade : 
There on their brows the moonbeam broke. 
Through the faint wreaths of silvery smoke. 

And on the casements played. 
And other light was none to see, 565 

Save torches gliding far. 
Before some chieftain of degree 
Who left the royal revelry 

To bowne him for the war. — 
A solemn scene the abbess chose, 570 

A solemn hour, her secret to disclose. 



XXI. 

' O holy Palmer ! * she began, — 

*• For sure he must be sainted man. 

Whose blessed feet have trod the ground 

Where the Redeemer's tomb is found, — 575 

For his dear Church's^sake, my tale 

1 Frontlets : the frontlet is (1) a band for the forehead ; (2) the fore- 
head itself. Here the word may perhaps be used figuratively for orna- 
ments. 



CANTO V THE COURT. 193 

Attend, nor deem of light avail, 

Though I must speak of worldly love, — 

How vain to those who wed above ! — 

De Wilton and Lord Marmion wooed 580 

Clara de Clare, of Gloster's blood ; — 

Idle it were of Whitby's dame 

To say of that same blood I came ; — 

And once, when jealous rage was high, 

Lord Marmion said despiteously,^ 585 

Wilton was traitor in his heart, 

And had made league with Martin Swart ^ 

When he came here on Simnel's ^ part, 

And only cowardice did restrain 

His rebel aid on Stokefield's * plain, — 590 

And down he thrcAv his glove .^ The thing 

Was tried, as wont, before the king ; 

Where frankly did De Wilton own 

That Swart in Guelders ^ he had known, 

And that between them then there went 595 

Some scroll of courteous compliment. 

For this he to his castle sent ; 

But when his messenger returned, 

1 Despiteously : furiously or maliciously. 

2 Martin Swart : Scott says that Swart was a German general who 
commanded a body of troops sent by the Duchess of Burgundy to fight in 
behalf of Lambert Simnel. Simnel was a pretender to the crown in Henry 
VII. 's time. He was utterly defeated at Stokefield, and was contemptu- 
ously given the office of scullion in the king's kitchen. 

3 Simnel : see Martin Swart, above. 

* Stokefield : in Nottinghamshire, England. 

5 Glove : to throw down the glove was to challenge one to combat or 
" trial by battle." Marmion thus challenges Wilton. It was believed that 
in trials by battle God would favor the innocent. 

6 Guelders : Holland. 



194 MARMION. CANTO V. 

Judge how De Wilton's fury burned ! 

For in his packet there were laid 600 

Letters that claimed disloyal aid 

And proved King Henry's cause betrayed. 

His fame, thus blighted, in the field 

He strove to clear by spear and shield ; — 

To clear his fame in vain he strove, 605 

For wondrous are His ways above ! 

Perchance some form ^ was unobserved, 

Perchance in prayer or faith he swerved, 

Else how could guiltless champion quail. 

Or how the blessed ordeal ^ fail ? 610 



XXII. 

' His squire, who now De Wilton saw 
As recreant ^ doomed to suffer law. 

Repentant, owned in vain 
That while he had the scrolls in care 
A stranger maiden, passing fair, 615 

Had drenched him * with a beverage rare ; 

His words no faith could gain. 
With Clare alone credence won. 
Who, rather than wed Marmion, 
Did to Saint Hilda's shrine repair, 620 

To give our house her livings ^ fair 

1 Form : some form of words or action required in trial by battle. 

2 Ordeal : the trial by battle as a test of innocence. 

3 Recreant : a knight, who yielded in combat and confessed himself 
vanquished, was accounted infamous, and was declared a recreant or 
coward. 

4 Drenched him : induced him to drink. 

5 Livings : estates. 



CANTO V. 



THE COURT. 195 



And die a vestal votaress ^ there. 

The impulse from the earth was given, 

But bent her to the paths of heaven. 

A purer heart, a lovelier maid, 625 

Ne'er sheltered her in Whitby's shade. 

No, not since Saxon Edelfled ; 

Only one trace of earthly stain. 

That for her lover's loss 
She cherishes a sorrow vain, 630 

And murmurs at the cross. — 
And then her heritage : — it goes 

Along the banks of Tame ; ^ 
Deep fields of grain the reaper mows, 
In meadows rich the heifer lows, 635 

The falconer ^ and huntsman knows 

Its woodlands for the game. 
Shame were it to Saint Hilda dear. 
And I, her humble votaress here. 

Should do a deadly sin, * 640 

Her temple spoiled* before mine eyes. 
If this false Marmion such a prize 

By my consent should win ; 
Yet hath our boisterous monarch sworn 
That Clare shall from our house be torn, 645 

1 Vestal votaress : a maiden devoted by solemn vows to the service of 
God. 

2 Tame : a small river of Staffordshire and Warwickshire. It flows near 
Tamworth Castle and is a tributary of the Trent. 

3 Falconer : one who breeds and trains falcons or hawks for hunting 
birds and small game. 

4 Spoiled : taken by violence, robbed. That is, if Marmion should wed 
the Lady Clare, he would come into possession (through his conquest of 
De Wilton, Clare's former lover) of the estate she had given to the convent 
of St. Hilda. 



196 MARMION. CANTO V. 

And grievous cause have I to fear 
Such mandate doth Lord Marmion bear. 



xxni. 

' Now, prisoner, helpless, and betrayed 
To evil power, I claim thine aid. 

By every step that thou hast trod 650 

To holy shrine and grotto ^ dim. 
By every martyr's tortured limb, 
By angel, saint, and seraphim,^ 

And by the Church of God ! 
For mark : when Wilton was betrayed, 655 

And with his squire forged letters laid. 
She was, alas ! that sinful maid 

By whom the deed was done, — 
Oh ! shame and horror to be said ! 

She was — a perjured nun ! 660 

No clerji in all the land like her 
Traced quaint ^ and varying character. 
Perchance you may a marvel deem. 

That Marmion's paramour — 
For such vile thing she was — should scheme * 665 

Her lover's nuptial hour ; 
But o'er him thus she hoped to gain, 
As privy to his honor's stain, 

Illimitable power. 

1 Grotto : (see Grot, p. 38) grottos or eaves were favorite places of 
retirement for many of the Christian^sairits in the early and middle ages, 
and hence were often visited by religious pilgrims. 

2 Seraphim : (here used for the singular seraph) angels, says Ogilvie's 
Imperial Dictionary, of the highest order. 

3 Quaint: here neat or elegant. * Scheme : plot, plan. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 197 

For this she secretly retained 670 

Each proof that might the plot reveal, 
Instructions with his hand and seal ; 

And thus Saint Hilda deigned, 
Through sinners' perfidy impure, 
Her house's glory to secure 675 

And Clare's immortal weal. 



XXIV. 

• 'Twere long and needless here to tell 
How to my hand these papers fell ; 

With me they must not stay. 
Saint Hilda keep her abbess true ? 680 

Who knows what outrage he might do 

While journeying by the way ? — 

blessed Saint, if e'er again 

1 venturous leave thy calm domain. 

To travel or ^ by land or main,^ 685 

Deep penance may I pay ! — 
Now, saintly Palmer, mark my prayer : 
I give this packet to thy care. 
For thee to stop they will not dare ; 

And oh ! with cautious speed 690 

To Wolsey's ^ hand the papers bring. 
That he may show them to the king : 

And for thy well-earned meed. 
Thou holy man, at Whitby's shrine 
A weekly mass shall still be thine 695 

1 Or : in sense of either, ~ Main : sea. 

3Wolsey: Cardinal Wolsey, he was at one time Henry VHI.'s chief 
adviser and minister. 



198 MARMION. CANTO V. 

While priests can sing and read. — 
What ail'st thou ? — SjDeak ! ' — For as he took 
The charge a strong emotion shook 

His frame, and ere reply 
They heard a faint yet shrilly tone, 700 

Like distant clarion feebly blown. 

That on the breeze did die ; 
And loud the abbess shrieked in fear, 
' Saint Withold,! save us ! — What is here ! 

Look at yon City Cross ! 705 

See on its battled tower appear 
Phantoms, that scutcheons seem to rear 

And blazoned banners toss ! ' — 

XXV. 

Dun-Edin's Cross,^ a pillared stone, 

Rose on a turret octagon ; — 710 

But now is razed ^ that monument. 

Whence royal edict rang. 
And voice of Scotland's law was sent 

In glorious trumpet-clang. 
Oh! be his tomb as lead to lead 715 

Upon its dull destroyer's head I — 

1 Saint Withold: a corrupted form of St. Vitalis. 

2 Dun-Edin's Cross: this ancient cross — an elaborate structure about 
forty feet in height — formerly stood in the High Street, Edinburgh, near 
St. Giles Church. In early times such crosses were erected in the centre 
of all important market towns. From them royal proclamations were 
made. The surmounting pillar of this cross is still preserved within the 
railings of St. Giles Church, and royar^rOclamations are still made from 
the spot — marked by an octagonal figure — on which the cross once stood. 

3 Razed : the cross was " razed " — pulled down — in 1756 by the magis- 
trates of Edinburgh on the pretext that it encumbered the street. 



o V. THE COURT. 199 

A minstrel's malison^ is said. — - 
Then on its battlements they saw 
A vision, passing nature's law, 

Strange, wild, and dimly seen ; 720 

Figures that seemed to rise and die, 
Gibber,2 and sign,^ advance and fly, 
While nought confirmed could ear or eye 

Discern of sound or mien. 
Yet darkly did it seem as* there 725 

Heralds and pursuivants prepare. 
With trumpet sound and blazon fair, 

A summons to proclaim ; 
But indistinct the pageant proud, 
As fancy forms of midnight cloud 730 

When flings the moon upon her shroud 

A wavering tinge of flame ; 
It flits, expands, and shifts, till loud. 
From midmost of the spectre crowd. 

This awful summons came : — ^ 



735 



XXVI. 



Prince, prelate, potentate, and peer. 
Whose names I now shall call. 



1 Malison: curse. 

- Gibber : jabber, to speak rapidly and inarticulately. 
The sheeted dead 
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets. — Shakespeare. 

•^ Sign : make signs or gestures. * a,s : as if. 

5 This awful summons: "Tbis supernatural citation (or summons)," 
says Scott, " is mentioned by all our Scottish historians. It was probably 
like the apparition at Linlithgow (see Canto IV., xvi.-xvii.), an attempt, 
by those averse to the war (with England), to impose upon the supersti- 
tious temper of James IV." 



200 MARMION. CANTO V. 

Scottish or foreigner, give ear ! 

Subjects of him who sent me here, 

At his tribunal to appear 740 

I summon one and all : 
I cite you by each deadly sin 
That e'er hath soiled your hearts within ; 
I cite you by each brutal lust 
That e'er defiled your earthly dust, — 745 

By wrath, by pride, by fear. 
By each o'ermastering passion's tone. 
By the dark grave and dying groan ! 
When forty days are passed and gone, 
I cite you, at your monarch's throne 750 

To answer and appear.' — 
Then thundered forth a roll of names : — 
The first was thine, unhappy James ! 

Then all thy nobles came ; 
Crawford, Glencairn, Montrose, Argyle, 755 

Ross, Bothwell, Forbes,^ Lennox, Lyle, — 
Why should I tell their separate style ?2 

Each chief of birth and fame. 
Of Lowland, Highland, Border, Isle, 
Foredoomed to Flodden's carnage pile, 760 

Was cited there by name ; 
And Marmion, Lord of Fontenaye, 
Of Lutterward, and Scrivelbaye ; 

De Wilton, erst of Aberley, 
The self-same thundering voice did say, — 765 

But then another spo^ke^:^ 



1 Forbes : for pronunciation, see note on p. 125. 

2 Style : here formal titles of nobility. 



CANTO V. THE COUKT. 201 

' Thy fatal summons I deny 

And thine infernal lord defy, 
Appealing me ^ to Him on high 

Who burst the sinner's yoke.' 770 

At that dread accent, with a scream, 
Parted the pageant like a dream. 

The summoner was gone. 
Prone ^ on her face the abbess fell, 
And fast, and fast, her beads did tell ; ^ 775 

Her nuns came, startled by the yell. 

And found her there alone. 
She marked not, at the scene aghast, 
What time or how the Palmer passed. 

XXVII. 

Shift we the scene. — The camp doth move ; 780 

Dun-Edin's streets are empty now, 
Save when, for weal of those they love 

To pray the prayer and vow the vow. 
The tottering child, the anxious fair. 
The gray-haired sire, with pious care, 785 

To chapels and to shrines repair. — 
Where is the Palmer now? and where 
The abbess, Marmion, and Clare ? — 
Bold Douglas ! to Tantallon fair 

They journey in thy charge : 790 

Lord Marmion rode on his right hand, 

1 Appealing me : making my appeal. 
- Prone: flat, with face downward. 

3 Beads did tell: counted her beads in prayer. (See note on " Chaplet," 
p. 190.) 



202 MARMION. CANTO V. 

The Palmer still was with the band ; 
Angus, like Lindesay, did command 

That none should roam at large. 
But in that Palmer's altered mien 795 

A wondrous change might now be seen ; 

Freely he spoke of war, 
Of marvels wrought by single hand 
When lifted for a native land, 
And still looked high, as if he planned 800 

Some desperate deed afar. 
His courser would he feed and stroke, 
And, tucking up his sable frock. 
Would first his metal bold provoke, 

Then soothe or quell his pride. 805 

Old Hubert said that never one 
He saw, except Lord Marmion, 

A steed so fairly ride. 



xxvni. 

Some half-hour's march behind there came. 

By Eustace governed fair, 810 

A troop escorting Hilda's dame, 

With all her nuns and Clare. 
No audience had Lord Marmion sought ; 

Ever he feared to aggravate 

Clara de Clare's suspicious hate; 815 

And safer 'twas, he thought. 

To wait till, from therms removed, 

The influence of kinsmen loved. 

And suit by Henry's self apj)roved. 
Her slow consent had wrought. 820 



CANTO V. 



THE COURT. 203 



His was no flickering flame, that dies 

Unless when fanned by looks and sighs 

And lighted oft at lady's eyes ; 

He longed to stretch his wide command 

O'er luckless Clara's ample land : 825 

Besides, when Wilton with him vied, 

Although the pang of humbled pride 

The place of jealousy supplied. 

Yet conquest, by that meanness won 

He almost loathed to think upon, 830 

Led him, at times, to hate the cause 

Which made him burst through honor's laws. 

If e'er he loved, 'twas her alone 

Who died within that vault of stone. 

XXIX. 

And now, when close at hand they saw 835 

North Berwick's town and lofty Law,^ 
Fitz-Eustace bade them pause awhile 
Before a venerable pile^ 

Whose turrets viewed afar 
The lofty Bass,^ the Lambie Isle,* 840 

The ocean's peace or war. 

1 Law : a hill. North Berwick Law is over six hundred feet high, and 
from it, on a clear day, a grand view may be had of the Bass Rock, Tan- 
tallon Castle, and other points of interest on the coast. 

2 Venerable pile: a convent then standing near North Berwick. 

3 Bass : The Bass Rock is a rocky islet near North Berwick. It rises to 
an altitude of over three hundred feet above the sea. Fronting it, on the 
coast, is Tantallon Castle. On the summit of the Rock are the remains of 
old fortifications. In 1671 these were converted into a state prison for the 
Covenanters. 

4 Lambie Isle : a small island not very far from the Bass Rock. 



204 MARMION. CANTO V. 

At tolling of a bell, forth came 

The convent's venerable dame, 

And prayed Saint Hilda's abbess rest 

With her, a loved and honored guest, 845 

Till Douglas should a bark prepare 

To waft her back to Whitby fair. 

Glad was the abbess, you may guess,i 

And thanked the Scottish prioress ; 

And tedious were to tell, I ween, 850 

The courteous speech that passed between. 

O'erjoyed the nuns their palfreys leave ; 
But when fair Clara did intend. 
Like them, from horseback to descend, 

Fitz-Eustace said : ' I grieve, 855 

Fair lady, grieve e'en from my heart, 
Such gentle company to part ; — 

Think not discourtesy. 
But lords' commands must be obeyed. 
And Marmion and the Douglas said 860 

That you must wend ^ with me. 
Lord Marmion hath a letter broad,^ 
Which to the Scottish earl he showed. 
Commanding that beneath his care 
Without delay you shall repair 865 

To your good kinsman, Lord Fitz-Clare.' 

1 Guess : the original meaning of this much abused word is to conjecture 
or surmise; but it not infrequently occurs in standard English authors, 
even as late as Wordsworth, in the looser sense of think, suppose, or im- 
agine. The common colloquial use of "guess" to express what we have 
no doubt about, Webster says should %e-branded as a vulgarism. 

2 Wend : (present tense of went) go. 

3 Letter broad (see note on " Broad " on p. 184) : some authorities consider 
the expression to mean an open letter or patent, a name given originally to 
a letter open to perusal, conferring some right or privilege on the holder. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 205 

XXX. 

The startled abbess loud exclaimed ; 

But she at whom the blow was aimed 

Grew pale as death and cold as lead, — 

She deemed she heard her death-doom read. 870 

' Cheer thee, my child ! ' the abbess said, 

' The J dare not tear thee from my hand, 

To ride alone with armed band.' — 

' Nay, holy mother, nay,' 
Fitz-Eustace said, ' the lovely Clare 875 

Will be in Lady Angus' care. 

In Scotland while we stay ; 
And when we move an easy ride 
Will bring us to the English side, 
Female attendance to provide 880 

Befitting Gloster's heir ; 
Nor thinks nor dreams my noble lord, 
By slightest look, or act, or word. 

To harass Lady Clare. 
Her faithful guardian he will be, 885 

Nor sue for slightest courtesy 

That e'en to stranger falls, 
Till he shall place her safe and free 

Within her kinsman's halls.' 
He spoke, and blushed with earnest grace ; 890 

His faith was painted on his face. 

And Clare's worst fear relieved. 
The Lady Abbess loud exclaimed 
On 1 Henry ,2 and the Douglas blamed, 

1 Exclaimed on : exclaimed against. 

2 Henry : Heury VIII. of England. 



206 MARMION. 



CANTO V. 



Entreated, threatened, grieved, 895 

To martyr, saint, and prophet prayed. 
Against Lord Marmion inveighed. 
And called the prioress to aid, 
To curse with candle, bell, and book.^ 
Her head the grave Cis tertian 2 shook : 900 

' The Douglas and the king,' she said, 
* In their commands will be obeyed ; 
Grieve not, nor dream that harm can fall 
The maiden in Tantallon Hall.' 

XXXI. 

The abbess, seeing strife was vain, 905 

Assumed her wonted state again, — 

For much of state she had, — 
Composed ^ her veil, and raised her head, 
And ' Bid,' in solemn voice she said, 

' Thy master, bold and bad, 910 

The records of his house turn o'er, 

And, when he shall there written see 

That one of his own ancestry 

Drove the monks forth* of Coventry,^ 

1 To curse with candle, bell, and book : a solemn mode of excommu- 
nication or expulsion from the church, formerly used in the Catholic 
Church. The officiating clergyman read the formula of excommunication 
from the book of religious services, then the hell of the church was tolled, 
as for the dead, the service-book was closed, and a lighted candle was cast 
upon the ground, with an imprecation that the soul of the person so cut off 
from the church might, like that candle, be extinguished in smoke and 
stench. ~^^_ ^ 

2 Cistertian : a monk or nun of the Cistercian Order ; so called because 
it was founded (1098) at Cistercium (Citeaux), France. 

3 Composed: arranged, put in order. ^ Forth : i.e. out. 

5 Coventry : this, says Scott, relates to a real Robert de Marmion, who 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 207 

Bid him his fate explore ! 915 

Prancing in pride of earthly trust, 

His charger hurled him to the dust, 

And, by a base plebeian thrust, 
He died his band before.^ 

God judge 'twixt Marmion and me ; 920 

He is a chief of high degree. 
And I a poor recluse,^ 

Yet oft in holy writ we see 

Even such weak minister as me 
May the oppressor bruise ; 925 

For thus, inspired, did Judith ^ slay 

The mighty in his sin. 
And Jael thus, and Deborah ' — * 

Here hasty Blount broke in : 
' Fitz-Eustace, we must march our band ; 930 

Saint Anton' ^ fire thee ! ^ wilt thou stand 
All day, with bonnet in thy hand, 

To hear the lady preach ? 
By this good light ! ^ if thus we stay. 
Lord Marmion for our fond ^ delay 935 

Will sharper sermon teach. 

in the reign of King Stephen drove out the monks from the church of 
Coventry. Shortly after his horse fell in a combat and Marmion was slain. 
This was regarded as a judgment of God for his action at Coventry. 

1 His band before: that is in sight of his troops. 

2 Recluse : here nun. 

3 Judith : a Jewish heroine (see the Book of Judith in the Apocrypha) 
who killed the Assyrian general, Holof ernes, and so saved her town from 
capture. ^ jael and Deborah: see Judges iv. 

6 Saint Anton : Saint Antony or Anthony. 

6 Fire thee : afflict thee with the disease (erysipelas) popularly known 
as St. Antony's fire. ^ By this good light: a form of oath. 

8 Fond: foolish. 



208 MARMTON. CANTO v. 

Come, don thy cap and mount thy horse ; 
The dame must patience take perforce.' ^ 

xxxn. 

' Submit we then to force,' said Clare, 

' But let this barbarous lord despair 940 

His purposed aim to win ; 
Let him take living, land, and life. 
But to be Marmion's wedded wife 

In me were deadly sin : 
And if it be the king's decree 945 

That I must find no sanctuary ^ 
In that inviolable dome ^ 
Where even a homicide might come 

And safely rest his head. 
Though at its open portals stood, 950 

Thirsting to pour forth blood for blood, 

The kinsmen of the dead ; 
Yet one asylum is my own 

Against the dreaded hour, — 
A low, a silent, and a lone, 955 

Where kings have little power. 
One victim* is before me there. — 
Mother, your blessing, and in prayer 

1 Perforce: of necessity. 

2 Sanctuary : place of protection. Formerly certain churches were set 
apart as refuges or asylums for fugitives from justice and persons in danger 
or distress. Unless they had committed treason or sacrilege, they were 
secure, while in sanctuary, against arrest or molestation for a specified time, 
at the end of which they were free T?o^ leave ; if criminals, to leave the 
country. ^ Dome : church. 

4 One victim : alluding to the death of Constance de Beverley (see Canto 
II., xxxii.). 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 209 

Remember your unhappy Clare ! ' 

Loud weeps the abbess, and bestows 960 

Kind blessings many a one ; 
Weeping and wailing loud arose, 
Round patient Clare, the clamorous woes 

Of every simple nun. 
His eyes the gentle Eustace dried, 965 

And scarce rude Blount the sight could bide. 

Then took the squire her rein, 
And gently led away her steed. 
And by each courteous word and deed 

To cheer her strove in vain. 970 

xxxm. 

But scant three miles the band had rode. 

When o'er a height they passed. 
And, sudden, close before them showed 

His towers Tantallon vast. 
Broad, massive, high, and stretching far, 975 

And held impregnable in war. 
On a projecting rock they rose, 
And round three sides the ocean flows, 
The fourth did battled walls enclose 

And double mound ^ and fosse. 980 

By narrow drawbridge, outworks strong. 
Through studded gates, an entrance long, 

To the main court they cross. 
It was a wide and stately square ; 
Around were lodgings fit and fair, 985 

And towers of various form, 

1 Double mound: double ramparts of earth or stone. 



210 MARMION. CANTO V. 

Which on the court projected far 
And broke its lines quadrangular. 
Here was square keep, there turret high, 
Or pinnacle that sought the sky, 990 

Whence oft the warder could descry 
The gathering ocean-storm. 

XXXIV. 

Here did they rest. — The princely care 

Of Douglas why should I declare ? 

Or say they met reception fair ? 995 

Or why the tidings say. 
Which varying to Tantallon came, 
By hurrying posts ^ or fleeter fame. 

With every varying day? 
And, first, they heard King James had won 1000 

Etall, and Wark, and Ford ; ^ and then 

That Norham Castle strong was ta'en. 
At that sore marvelled Marmion, 
And Douglas hoped his monarch's hand 
Would soon subdue Northumberland ; 1005 

But whispered news there came. 
That while his host inactive lay. 
And melted by degrees away. 
King James was dallying off the day 

With Heron's wily dame.^ loio 

Such acts to chronicles I yield ; 

1 Posts : mounted messengers. -They rode at high speed and had relays 
of horses ready for them at certain points. 

2 Etall, Wark, Ford, Norham: all these castles, or their remains, are 
in England, near the Scottish border. 

3 Heron's wily dame : see stanza x. 



CANTO V. THE COURT. 211 

Go seek tliem there and see : 
Mine is a tale of Flodden Field,i 

And not a history. — 
At length they heard the Scottish host 1015 

On that high ridge had made their post^ 

Which frowns o'er Millfield Plain ; ^ 
And that brave Surrey many a band 
Had gathered in the Southern land, 
And marched into Northumberland, 1020 

And camp at Wooler* ta'en. 
Marmion, like charger in the stall. 
That hears, without, the trumpet-call, 

Began to chafe and swear : — 
'A sorry ^ thing to hide my head 1025 

In castle, like a fearful maid. 

When such a field is near. 
Needs must I see this battle-day ; 
Death to my fame if such a fray 
Were fought and Marmion away ! 1030 

The Douglas, too, I wot^ not why, 

Hath bated ^ of his courtesy; 
No longer in his halls I'll stay : 
Then bade his band they should array 
For march against the dawning day. 1035 

1 Flodden Field: see note on Marmion, p. 1, 
'-^ Made their post : taken up their position. 

3 Millfield Plain : this is about five miles southeast of Flodden Field. 

4 Wooler : a town on the southern declivity of the Cheviot Hills which 
form part of the boundary between Scotland and England. 

5 Sorry: poor, mean, wretched. 

6 Wot: know. 

' Bated: abated. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO SIXTH. 

To RICHARD HEBER, Esq.i 

Mertoun Housed Christmas. 

Heap on more wood ! — the wind is chill ; 

But let it whistle as it will, 

We'll keep our Christmas merry still. 

Each age has deemed the new-born year 

The fittest time for festal cheer : 5 

Even, heathen yet, the savage Dane, 

At loP more deep the mead* did drain. 

High on the beach his galleys drew, 

And feasted all his pirate crew ; 

1 Richard Heber, Esq. : a half-brother of Bishop Heber, the poet. He 
was a member of Parliament, 1821-1826, but was noted chiefly as a clas- 
sical scholar and book-collector. He spent about $900,000 in this way, and 
owned a number of large libraries in London, Paris, Oxford, and elsewhere. 
He was one of Scott's most intimate friends. 

2 Mertoun House: this introduction was written at Mertoun House, 
the residence of Hugh Scott, Esq., on the Tweed, a short distance below 
Dryburgh Abbey. Mr. Scott was a distant kinsman of Sir Walter's. 

3 lol : Scott says that the lol of the heathen Danes (a word preserved in 
the English Yule, and still applied to Christmas in Scotland) was solem- 
nized with great festivity. At table, on that occasion, the feasters amused 
themselves by pelting each other with bones. 

In their dances round great fires of pine trees, they danced with such 
fury, holding each other by the hands, that if the grasp of any one failed, 
he was pitched into the fire with tha.yelocity of a sling. The sufferer was 
instantly plucked out and compelled to drink a huge measure of ale as a 
penalty " for spoiling the king's fire." 

4 Mead : a fermented liquor made from honey and malt, and flavored 
with spices. 

(212) 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO VI. 213 

Then in his low and pine-built hall, lo 

Where shields and axes decked the wall, 

They gorged upon the half-dressed steer, 

Caroused in seas of sable beer. 

While round in brutal jest were thrown 

The half-gnawed rib and marrowbone, 15 

Or listened all in grim delight 

While scalds ^ yelled out the joys of fight. 

Then forth in frenzy would they hie,^ 

While wildly loose their red locks fly, 

And dancing round the blazing pile, 20 

They make such barbarous mirth the while 

As best might to the mind recall 

The boisterous joys of Odin's ^ hall. 

And well our Christian sires of old 
Loved when the year its course had rolled, 25 

And brought blithe Christmas back again 
With all his hospitable train. 
Domestic and religious rite 
Gave honor to the holy night ; 
On Christmas eve the bells were rung, 30 

On Christmas eve the mass was sung : 
That only night in all the year 
Saw the stoled* priest the chalice^ rear. 

1 Scalds : ancient Scandinavian poets. 

2 Hie : hasten, run. 

3 0dm or Woden: the greatest of the Scandinavian gods — ruler of 
heaven and earth. The name Wednesday is derived from this deity. He 
feasted the souls of hrave warriors in Valhalla, his great celestial hall. 

4 Stoled : wearing the stole, a long, narrow scarf. 

5 Chalice : the communion cup. In Roman Catholic countries, says 
Scott — and he is speaking of Great Britain when it was Roman Catholic — 
mass (communion service) is never said at night except on Christmas eve. 



214 MARMION. 

The damsel donned her kirtle sheen ; 

The hall was dressed with holly green ; 35 

Forth to the wood did merrymen go, 

To gather in the mistletoe.^ 

Then opened wide the baron's hall 

To vassal, tenant, serf,^ and all ; 

Power laid his rod of rule aside, 40 

And Ceremony doffed liis pride. 

The heir, with roses in his shoes. 

That night might village partner choose ; 

The lord, underogating,^ share 

The vulgar game of ' post and pair.' * 45 

All hailed, with uncontrolled delight 

And general voice, the happy night 

That to the cottage, as the crown. 

Brought tidings of salvation down. 

The fire, with well-dried logs supplied, 50 

Went roaring up the chimney wide ; 
The huge hall-table's oaken face. 
Scrubbed till it shone, the day to grace, 
Bore then upon its massive board 
No mark^ to part the squire and lord. 55 

1 Mistletoe : an evergreen plant bearing small, yellowish-green flowers 
and whife berries. It grows parasitically on various trees, but seldom on 
the oak. The Scandinavians and the Druids held it in great veneration. 
In England it is still gathered at Christmas, and the custom of kissing 
under the mistletoe forms no small part of the merriment at that time. 

2 Serf : a farm-laborer who was bound to the soil and could be sold with 
it ; serfdom existed in Scotland long after it had ceased in England. 

3 TJnderogating : without losing dignity or lessening rank. 

4 Post and pair : a game at cards. 

5 No mark : this mark, used to separate the humbler guests from those 
of rank and wealth, was generally a large salt-cellar. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO VI. 215 

Then was brought in the lusty brawn ^ 

By old blue-coated servmg-man ; 

Then the grim boar's-head frowned on high,^ 

Crested with bays and rosemary. 

Well can the green-garbed^ ranger tell 60 

How, when, and where, the monster fell, 

What dogs before his death he tore. 

And all the baiting* of the boar. 

The wassail round, in good brown bowls 

Garnished with ribbons, blithely trowls.^ 65 

There the huge sirloin reeked ; ^ hard by " 

Plum-porridge stood and Christmas pie ; 

Nor failed old Scotland to produce 

At such high tide^ her savory goose. 

Then came the merry maskers in, 70 

And carols roared with blithesome din ; 

If un melodious was the song. 

It was a hearty note and strong. 

Who lists ^ may in their mumming ^^ see 

Traces of ancient mystery ;i^ 75 

White shirts supplied the masquerade. 

And smutted cheeks the visors ^^ made ; 

1 Brawn : boar's flesh prepared in a peculiar manner. 

2 Boar's-head frowned on high : either alluding to the head being 
brought in on a platter decked with bays and rosemary, or to the ornament 
of a boar's head appended to the wall and crested with Christmas greens. 

3 Green-garbed : the rangers or hunters usually wore a suit of " Lincoln 
green." 

4 Baiting : here hunting with dogs. 

5 Trowls: passes from hand to hand. » High tide : holiday. 

6 Reeked : smoked or steamed. 9 Lists : chooses, likes. 

" Hard by : close by. 10 Mumming : masquerade. 

11 Mystery : a sacred dramatic representation, such as was common in 
the middle ages ; scriptural stories and lives of the saints formed the basis 
of the mystery or play. i- Visors : here masks. 



216 MARMION. 

But oh ! what maskers, richly dight, 

Can boast of bosoms half so light ! 

England was merry England when 80 

Old Christmas brought his sports again. 

'Twas Christmas broached the mightiest ale, 

'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale ; 

A Christmas gambol oft could cheer 

The poor man's heart through half the year. 85 

Still linger in our northern clime 
Some remnants of the good old time. 
And still within our valleys here 
We hold the kindred title dear, 
Even when, perchance, its far-fetched claim 90 

To Southron ear sounds empty name ; 
For course of blood, our proverbs deem, 
Is warmer 1 than the mountain -stream. 
And thus my Christmas still I hold 
Where my great-grandsire came of old, 95 

With amber ^ beard and flaxen hair 
And reverend apostolic air. 
The feast and holy-tide^ to share. 
And mix sobriety with wine. 

And honest mirth with thoughts divine : 100 

Small thought was his, in after time 
E'er to be hitched into a rhyme. 

1 Blood ... is warmer : alluding to the proverb that " Blood is warmer 
than water." A proverb, says Scott, "meant to vindicate our family 
predilections." The common saying is^: "Blood is thicker than water." 

2 Amber : i.e. amber or yellow-colored. Scott says that this and the 
next few lines were imitated by him from a poetical invitation to spend 
Christmas, addressed to his relative by the grandfather of Mr. Scott of 
Harden (Mertoun House). 3 Holy-tide ; holy or holiday season. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO VI. 217 

The simple sire could only boast 

That he was loyal to his cost, 

The banished race of kings revered, 105 

And lost his land, — but kept his beard.^ 

In these dear halls, where welcome kind 
Is with fair liberty combined. 
Where cordial friendship gives the hand. 
And flies constraint the magic wand no 

Of the fair dame ^ that rules the land. 
Little we heed the tempest drear. 
While music, mirth, and social cheer 
Speed on their wings the passing year. 
And Mertoun's halls are fair e'en now, 115 

When not a leaf is on the bough. 
Tweed loves them well, and turns again. 
As loathe to leave the sweet domain. 
And holds his mirror to her face, 
And clips ^ her with a close embrace : — 120 

Gladly as he we seek the dome,* 
And as reluctant turn us home. 

How just that at this time of glee 
My thoughts should, Heber, turn to thee ! 
For many a merry hour we've known, 125 

1 Kept his beard : the venerable Mr. Scott here referred to had been 
a devoted adherent of the Stuarts, When, by the English Civil War and 
the execution of Charles I., Prince Charles (afterward Charles II.) was 
driven into exile, Mr. Scott, who lost his property in the war, swore that 
he would not shave his beard until the Stuarts came to the throne again. 

2 Fair dame : Lady Scott, wife of the Hugh Scott, Esq., of Mertoun House, 
to whom the introduction to the Sixth Canto of Marmion is addressed. 

3 Clips : clasps. 

4 Dome : here house ; i.e. Mertoun House, 



218 MARMION. 

And heard the chimes of midnight's tone. 

Cease, then, my friend ! a moment cease, 

And leave these classic tomes in peace ! 

Of Roman and of Grecian lore 

Sure mortal brain can hold no more. 130 

These ancients, as Noll Bluffs might say, 

' Were pretty fellows in their day,' 

But time and tide o'er all prevail — 

On Christmas eve a Christmas tale — 

Of wonder and of war — ' Profane ! 135 

What! leave the lofty Latian^ strain, 

Her stately prose, her verse's charms, 

To hear the clash of rusty arms ; 

In Fairy-land or Limbo ^ lost. 

To jostle conjurer and ghost, 140 

Goblin and witch ! ' — ' Nay, Heber dear, 

Before you touch my charter,* hear ; 

Though Ley den ^ aids, alas ! no more. 

My cause with many-language d lore. 

This may I say: — in realms of death 145 

Ulysses meets Alcides' wraithf' 

^neas upon Thracia's shore 



1 Noll Bluff: Captain Noll Bluff, a swaggerer and a coward in Con- 
greve's play of The Old Bachelor; the quotation which follows is an adap- 
tation of one of the captain's sayings. 

2 latian : Latin. 

3 Limbo : originally a supposed borderland of hell ; but here any region 
apart from this world. 

4 Touch my charter : interfere with my right or liberty. 

SLeyden: Dr. John Leyden. Hg^ had been, says Lockhart, of great 
service to Scott in the preparation of his Border Minstrelsy. He died in 
Java in 1811. 

6 Wraith : the ghost of Alcides, another name for Hercules. See Homer's 
Odyssey. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO VI. 219 

The ghost of murdered Polydore ; ^ 

For omens,^ we in Livy cross 

At every turn locutus Bos.^ 150 

As grave and duly speaks that ox 

As if he told the price of stocks, 

Or held in Rome republican 

The place of Common-councilman. 

All nations have their omens drear, 155 

Their legends wild of woe and fear. 
To Cambria^ look — the peasant see 
Bethink him of Glendowerdy^ 
And shun ' the Spirit's Blasted Tree.' — ^ 
The Highlander, whose red claymore'' 160 

The battle turned on Maida's^ shore, 
Will on a Friday morn look pale. 
If asked to tell a fairy tale : 
He fears the vengeful Elfin King, 
Who leaves that day his grassy ring ;^ 165 

1 Polydore: Polydorus {JEneid, III., 19). 

2 Omens : events or signs thought to portend either good or evil. 

3 Locutus Bos : the ox spake. * Cambria : Wales. 

s Glendowerdy : literally the estate of Glendower (or Glendowr), a cele- 
brated \Velsh chieftain of the century. Here the word appears to be used 
for Glendower himself. 

6 Spirit's Blasted Tree : a Welsh legend represents two Welsh chief- 
tains, Howel Sele and Owen Glendowr, as fighting a mortal combat. Glen- 
dowr comes off conqueror; his adversary is buried under a blasted oak 
which is henceforth haunted by his angry spirit. 

" Claymore : originally a long, heavy sword requiring both hands to 
wield it. 

8 Maida : a small town near Naples. Here the British forces, under Sir 
John Stuart, gained a noted victory over the French in 1806. 

'• Grassy ring : a ring in the grass caused by the growth of certain 
plants, but popularly supposed to be caused by elves or fairies dancing in 
a circle. 



220 MARMION. 

Invisible to human ken, 

He walks among the sons of men. 

Didst e'er, dear Heber, pass along 
Beneath the towers of Franchemont,^ 
Which, like an eagle's nest in air, 170 

Hang o'er the stream and hamlet fair ? 
Deep in their vaults, the peasants say, 
A mighty treasure buried lay. 
Amassed through rapine and through wrong 
By the last Lord of Franchemont. 175 

The iron chest is bolted hard, 
A huntsman sits its constant guard; 
Around his neck his horn is hung, 
His hanger 2 in his belt is slung; 
Before his feet his bloodhounds lie : 180 

And 'twere not for his gloomy eye. 
Whose withering glance no heart can brook. 
As true a huntsman doth he look 
As bugle e'er in brake did sound. 
Or ever hallooed to a hound. 185 

To chase the fiend and win the prize 
In that same dungeon ever tries 
An aged necromantic^ priest; 
It is an hundred years at least 

Since 'twixt them first the strife begun, 190 

And neither yet has lost nor won. 

1 Franchemont: a castle in Belgram about 10 miles southeast of Liege. 

2 Hanger : a short, heavy broadsword. 

3 Necromantic : versed in necromancy, or the pretended art of revealing 
the fortune by means of communication with the dead; also versed in 
magic or conjuration. 



INTRODUCTION TO CANTO VI. 221 

And oft the conjurer's words will make 

The stubborn demon groan and quake ; 

And oft the bands of iron break, 

Or bursts one lock that still amain, 195 

Fast as 'tis opened, shuts again. 

That magic strife within the tomb 

May last until the day of doom, 

Unless the adept ^ shall learn to tell 

The very Y*^ord that clenched the spell 200 

When Franch'mont locked the treasure cell. 

An hundred years are passed and gone, 

And scarce three letters has he won. 

Such general superstition may 
Excuse for old Pitscottie ^ say, 205 

Whose gossip history has given 
My song the messenger from heaven^ 
That warned, in Lithgow, Scotland's king, 
Nor less the infernal summoning ; ^ 
May pass 5 the Monk of Durham's tale,^ 210 

Whose demon fought in Gothic mail ; 
May pardon plead for Fordun^ grave, 

1 Adept : here an expert in magic. 

2 Pitscottie: Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, Scotland, author of the 
Chronicles of Scotland, 1436-1565. He was born early in the sixteenth 
century. 

3 Messenger from heaven : alluding to the incident narrated in Canto 
IV., xvi. 

4 The infernal summoning : alluding to the incident narrated in Canto 
v., XXV., xxvi. 5 Pass : surpass. 

6 Monk of Durham's tale : this appears to refer to Canto III., xxii.- 
xxiv., though Scott does not there mention the Monk of Durham in con- 
nection with the tale. 

7 Fordun: an ancient Scottish historian. The story of the Goblin Hall 
(see Canto HI., xix.) is based on what he relates. 



222 MARMION. 

Who told of Gifford's Goblin-Cave. 

But why such instances to 3^ou, 

Who in an instant can renew 215 

Your treasured hoards of various lore,^ 

And furnish twenty thousand more ? 

Hoards, not like theirs whose volumes rest 

Like treasures in the Franch'mont chest,^ 

While gripple ^ owners still refuse, 220 

To others what they cannot use ; 

Give them the priest's whole century,^ 

They shall not spell you letters three,^ — 

Their pleasure in the books the same 

The magpie takes in pilfered gem.^ 225 

Thy volumes," open as thy heart, 

Delight, amusement, science, art, 

To every ear and eye impart ; 

Yet who, of all who thus employ them, 

Can like the owner's self enjoy them ? — 230 

But, hark ! I hear the distant drum ! 

The day of Flodden Field is come, — 

Adieu, dear Heber ! life and health, 

And store of literary wealth. 

1 Hoards of various lore : see note below on " Volumes." 

2 Franch' mont chest : referring to the legend of buried treasures in 
Franche'mont Castle. See p. 220. 

3 Gripple : grasping, miserly. 

4 The priest's whole century : referring to the tradition of the " necro- 
mantic priest's " hundred years' strife for the treasure. See line 189, above. 

5 Spell you letters three : make out or decipher so much as three letters, 
s Pilfered gem : the magpie — a bird of the crow family — is noted for 

its crafty instincts and its propensity l;o^ purloin and secrete glittering 
articles. 

'' Thy volumes : alluding to Heber's enormous collections of books. See 
note on " Heber," p. 212. 



THE BATTLE. 



While great events were on the gale, 

And each hour brought a varying tale, 

And the demeanor, changed and cold, 

Of Douglas fretted Marmion bold, 

And, like the impatient steed of war, 5 

He snuffed the battle from afar. 

And hopes were none that back again 

Herald should come from Terouenne,^ 

Where England's king in leaguer^ lay, 

Before decisive battle-day, — lo 

While these things were, the mournful Clare 

Did in the Dame's devotions share ; 

For the good countess ceaseless prayed 

To Heaven and saints her sons to aid. 

And with short interval did pass 15 

From prayer to book, from book to mass, 

And all in high baronial pride, — 

A life both dull and dignified : 

Yet, as Lord Marmion nothing pressed, 

Upon her intervals of rest, 20 

Dejected Clara well could bear 

1 Terouenne : a town of France, about 30 miles southeast of Calais, 
Henry VIII. of England was then besieging it. 
'^ Leaguer : camp. 

(223) 



224 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

The formal state, the lengthened prayer 
Though dearest to her wounded heart 
The hours that she might spend apart. 



II. 

I said Tantallon's dizzy steep 25 

Hung o'er the margin of the deep. 

Many a rude tower and rampart there 

Repelled the insult of the air, 

Which, when the tempest vexed the sky, 

Half breeze, half spray, came whistling by. 30 

Above the rest a turret square 

Did o'er its Gothic entrance bear. 

Of sculpture rude, a stony shield ; 

The Bloody Heart ^ was in the field, 

And in the chiefs three mullets^ stood, 35 

The cognizance^ of Douglas blood.^ 

The turret held a narrow stair, 

Which, mounted, gave you access, where 

A parapet's^ embattled^ row 

Did seaward round the castle go. 40 

Sometimes in dizzy steps descending, 

1 Bloody Heart : a device in the arms of the Douglas family represent- 
ing a bleeding heart. The field is the general surface of the shield or 
escutcheon. On the attempt of Douglas to carry the heart of the Bruce 
to the Holy Land, see Ginn & Co.'s Heroic Ballads. The bleeding heart 
in the Douglas arms represents, it is said, this " heart of the Bruce." 

2 Chief : the upper part of the shield or escutcheon. 

3 Mullets: star-shaped figures, intended to represent the rowels or 
pointed wheels of spurs. 

4 Cognizance : badge, coat-of-armsT ^ 

5 Douglas blood : the Douglas family. 

6 Parapet : a breast-high wall. 

'' Embattled : same as battled (see note on p. 18) . 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 225 

Sometimes in narrow circuit bending, 

Sometimes in platform broad extending, 

Its varying circle did combine 

Bulwark, and bartizan,^ and line,^ 45 

And bastion,^ tower, and vantage-coign.* 

Above the booming ocean leant 

The far-projecting battlement ; 

The billows burst in ceaseless flow 

Upon the precipice below. 50 

Where'er Tantallon faced the land. 

Gate-works and walls were strongly manned ; 

No need upon the sea-girt side : 

The steepy rock and frantic tide 

Approach of human step denied, 55 

And thus these lines and ramparts rude 

Were left in deepest solitude. 



III. 

And, for they Avere so lonely, Clare 
Would to these battlements repair, 
And muse upon her sorrows there, 60 

And list the sea-bird's cry. 
Or slow, like noontide ghost, would glide 
Along the dark-gray bulwark's side, 

1 Bartizan : a small, overhanging turret pierced with apertures for an 
archer to discharge arrows through. Bartizans generally project from the 
angles on the top of a tower or from the rampart. 

2 Line : a rampart. 

3 Bastion : a V-shaped mass of earth or stone projecting from a rampart 
or wall. It enables the defenders of a fortification to defend the rampart 
more effectively. 

4 Vantage-coign : a corner of advantage, a corner good both for protec- 
tion and for attack against an enemy. 



226 MARMION. CANTO VI 

And ever on the heaving tide 

Look down with weary eye. 65 

Oft did the cliff and swelling main 
Recall the thoughts of Whitby's fane, — ^ 
A home she ne'er might see again ; 

For she had laid adown,^ 
So Douglas bade, the hood and veil, 70 

And frontlet^ of the cloister pale,"^ 

And Benedictine gown : ^ 
It were unseemly^ sight, he said, 
A novice out of convent shade. — 
Now her bright locks with sunny glow 75 

Again adorned her brow of snow ; 
Her mantle rich, whose borders round 
A deep and fretted broidery bound. 
In golden foldings sought the ground ; 
Of holy ornament, alone 80 

Remained a cross with ruby stone ; 
And often did she look 
On that which in her hand she bore. 
With velvet bound and broidered o'er. 

Her breviary book.^ 85 



1 Fane : a church or other building consecrated to religion. 

2 Adown : down or aside. 

3 Frontlet : a fillet or band worn on the forehead. 

4 Cloister pale : the convent enclosure; or pale may be used adjectively 
to describe the light of the convent, especially of the cloisters or covered 
walk. 

s Benedictine gown : a loose gown with large, wide sleeves, and a cowl 
for covering the head, such as was w&rarby Benedictine monks. 

6 Unseemly : unbecoming, unfit. 

7 Breviary book : an abbreviated (hence the name, Breviarij) religious 
service-book used in the Catholic Church and practically equivalent to a 
prayer-book. 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 227 

In such a place, so lone, so grim, 
At dawning pale or twilight dim, 

It fearful would have been 
To meet a form so richly dressed, 
With book in hand, and cross on breast, 90 

And such a woful mien. 
Fitz-Eustace, loitering with his bow. 
To practise on the gull and crow. 
Saw her at distance gliding slow. 

And did by Mary 1 swear 95 

Some lovelorn 2 fay she might have been, 
Or in romance some spell-bound ^ queen. 
For ne'er in work-day world was seen 

A form so witching^ fair. 



IV. 

Once walking thus at evening tide. 
It chanced a gliding sail she spied, 
And sighing thought — ' The abbess there 
Perchance does to her home repair ; 
Her peaceful rule, where Duty free 
Walks hand in hand with Charity, 
Where oft Devotion's tranced glow 
Can such a glimpse of heaven bestow 
That the enraptured sisters see 
High vision and deep mystery, — 
The very form of Hilda fair. 
Hovering upon the sunny air 



105 



no 



1 Mary: the Virgin Mary. 

2 Lovelorn : pining or suffering from love. 

3 Spell-bound : enchanted or bound as by a charm. 
* Witching : bewitching. 



228 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

And smiling on her votaries' prayer. 
Oh ! wherefore to my duller eye 
Did still the saint her form deny ? 
Was it that, seared by sinful scorn, 115 

My heart could neither melt nor burn ? 
Or lie my warm affections low 
With him that taught them first to glow ? 
Yet gentle abbess, well I knew 
• To pay thy kindness grateful due, 120 

And well could brook the mild command 
That ruled thy simple maiden band. 
How different now, condemned to bide 
My doom from this dark tyrant's pride ! — 
But Marmion has to learn ere long 125 

That constant mind and hate of wrong 
Descended to a feeble girl 
From Red de Clare, stout Gloster's Earl : 
Of such a stem a sapling weak. 
He ne'er shall bend, although he break. 130 



' But see ! — what makes ^ this armor here ? ' — 

For in her path there lay 
Targe, corselet, helm ; — she viewed them near. — 
' The breastplate pierced ! — Ay, much I fear. 
Weak fence 2 wert thou 'gainst foeman's spear, 135 
That hath made fatal entrance here. 

As these dark blood-gouts ^ say. — 
Thus Wilton ! — Oh ! norcorselet's ward,* 

1 Makes: does. ^ Blood-gouts : drops of blood. 

2 Fence : defence. ^ Ward : defence. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 229 



Not truth, as diamond pure and hard, 

Could be thy manly bosom's guard 140 

On yon disastrous day ! ' — 
She raised her eyes in mournful mood, — 
Wilton himself before hex stood ! 
It might have seemed his passing ghost, 
For every youthful grace was lost, 145 

And joy unwonted and surprise 
Gave their strange wildness to his eyes. — 
Expect not, noble dames and lords. 
That I can tell such scene in words : 
What skilful limner^ e'er would choose 150 

To paint the rainbow's varying hues, 
Unless to mortal it were given 
To dip his brush in dyes of heaven ? 
Far less can my weak line declare 

Each changing passion's shade : 155 

Brightening to rapture from despair. 
Sorrow, surprise, and pity there, 
And joy with her angelic air. 
And hope that paints the future fair, 

Their varying hues displayed ; 160 

Each o'er its rival's ground extending. 
Alternate conquering, shifting, blending. 
Till all fatigued the conflict yield. 
And mighty love retains the field. 
Shortly I tell what then he said, 165 

By many a tender word dela3^ed. 
And modest blush, and bursting sigh. 
And question kind, and fond reply : — 

1 Limner : a painter. 



230 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

VI. 

' DE Wilton's history. 

' Forget we that disastrous day 

When senseless m the lists I lay. 170 

Thence dragged, — but how I cannot know, 
For sense and recollection fled, — 

I found me on a pallet^ low 

Within my ancient beadsman's ^ shed. 

Austin, — remember'st thou, my Clare, 175 

How thou didst blush when the old man, 
When first our infant love began, 

Said we would make a matchless pair ? — 
Menials and friends and kinsmen fled 
From the degraded traitor's bed, — 180 

He only held my burning head. 
And tended me for many a day 
While wounds and fever held their sway. 
But far more needful was his care 
When sense returned to wake despair; 185 

For I did tear the closing wound, 

And dash me frantic on the ground, 
If e'er I heard the name of Clare. 
At length, to calmer reason brought, 
Much by his kind attendance wrought, 190 

With him I left my native strand. 
And, in a palmer's weeds arrayed. 
My hated name and form to shade, 

I journeyed many a land; 
No more a lord of rank and birth, 195 

1 Pallet : a small, poor, rude bed. 

2 Beadsman: a person employed to pray for another. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 231 



But mingled with the dregs of earth. 

Oft Austin for my reason feared, 
When I would sit, and deeply brood 
On dark revenge and deeds of blood, 

Or wild mad schemes upreared. 200 

My friend at length fell sick, and said 

God would remove him soon ; 
And while upon his dying bed 

He begged of me a boon — 
If e'er my deadliest enemy 205 

Beneath m,y brand should conquered lie, 
Even then my mercy should awake 
And spare his life for Austin's sake. 

VII. 

' Still restless as a second Cain, 

To Scotland next my route was ta'en, 210 

Full well the paths I knew. 
Fame of my fate made various sound. 
That death in pilgrimage I found. 
That I had perished of my wound, — 

None cared which tale was true ; 215 

And living eye could never guess 
De Wilton in his palmer's dress, 
For now that sable slough ^ is shed, 
And trimmed my shaggy beard and head, 
I scarcely know me in the glass. 220 

A chance most wondrous did provide 
That I should be that baron's guide — 

^ Slough (sliif) : something slipped off, as the skiu of a snake ; here the 
coarse palmer's dress. 



232 MARMION. 



CANTO VI. 



I will not name his name ! — 
Vengeance to God alone belongs ; 
But, when I think on all my wrongs, 225 

My blood is liquid flame ! 
And ne'er the time shall I forget 
When, in a Scottish hostel set. 

Dark looks we did exchange : 
What were his thoughts I cannot tell, 230 

But in my bosom mustered Hell 

Its plans of dark revenge. 



VIII. 

'A word of vulgar augury^ 

That broke from me, I scarce knew why, 

Brought on a village tale, 235 

Which wrought upon his moody sprite,^ 
And sent him armed forth by night. 

I borrowed steed and mail 
And weapons from his sleeping band ; 

And, passing from a postern ^ door, 240 

We met and 'countered,* hand to hand, — 

He fell on Gifford-moor. 
For the death-stroke my brand I drew, — 
Oh ! then my helmed head he knew. 

The palmer's cowl was gone, — 245 

1 Word of vulgar augury : referring to the palmer's reply to Marmion 
given on p. 103, line 217. "Vulgar augury " a common prediction or saying, 
alluding to the superstition that such a " death-peal " as Marmion fancied 
he heard portended " the death of a deaFffiend." 

2 Sprite : here spirit. 

3 Postern : a small rear (or side) door. 
'^ 'Countered : encountered. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 233 



Then had three inches of my blade 
The heavy debt of vengeance paid, — 
My hand the thought of Austin ^ stayed ; 

I left him there alone. — 
O good old man ! even from the grave 250 

Thy spirit could thy master save : 
If I had slain my foeman, ne'er 
Had Whitby's abbess in her fear 
Given to my hand this packet dear, 
Of power to clear my injured fame 255 

And vindicate De Wilton's name. — 
Perchance you heard the abbess tell 
Of the strange pageantry of hell 

That broke our secret speech — 
It rose from the infernal shade, 260 

Or featly^ was some juggle played, 

A tale of peace to teach. 
Appeal to Heaven I judged was best 
When my name came among the rest. 



IX. 

' Now here within Tantallon hold 265 

To Douglas late my tale I told. 

To whom my house was known of old. 

Won by my proofs, his falchion bright 

This eve anew shall dub me knight.^ 

These were the arms that once did turn 270 



1 Austin : the beadsman (see p. 230) . 
' Featly : adroitly. 

3 Dub me knight : to confer the rank and title of knight by striking the 
candidate on the shoulder with the flat of the sword. 



234 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

The tide of fight on Otterburne,^ 

And Harry Hotspur forced to yield 

When the Dead Douglas won the field. 

These Angus ^ gave — his armorer's care 

Ere morn shall every breach repair ; 275 

For nought, he said, was in his halls 

But ancient armor on the walls, 

And aged chargers in the stalls. 

And women, priests, and gray-haired men ; 

The rest were all in Twisel gien.^ 280 

And now I watch my armor here. 

By law of arms,^ till midnight's near ; 

Then, once again a belted knight,^ 

Seek Surrey's camp^ with dawn of light. 



' There soon again Ave meet, my Clare ! 285 

This baron means to guide thee there : 
Douglas reveres his king's command. 
Else would he take thee from his band. 

1 Otterburne : this was a famous battle fought in 1388 between an 
invading force of Scottisli troops, led by the Earls of Douglas and Murray, 
and an English force headed by the Percies, one of whom was Harry Hot- 
spur. See Scott's Border Minstrelsy. The familiar ballad of Chevy Chase 
is founded, says Professor Child, on the battle of Otterburne, described in 
an older ballad. 

2 Angus : see Canto V., xiv., line 4. 

3 Twisel glen : this is in England not far from Flodden. " Here," says 
Scott, "James IV. encamped before taking post on Flodden." 

4 By law of arms : the law of arms required the candidate for knight- 
hood to watch his armor the night before-he was dubbed. 

5 Belted knight : the sword belt was one of the chief insignia of 
knighthood. 

6 Surrey's camp : the English forces, against whom James IV. was con- 
tending, were led by the Earl of Surrey. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 235 



And there thy kinsman Surrey, too, 

Will give De Wilton justice due. 290 

Now meeter far for martial broil. 

Firmer my limbs and strung by toil, 

Once more ' — ' O Wilton I must we then 

Risk new-found happiness again. 

Trust fate of arms once more ? 295 

And is there not an humble glen 

Where we, content and poor. 
Might build a cottage in the shade, 
A shepherd thou, and I to aid 

Thy task on dale and moor ? — 300 

That reddening brow ! — too well I know 
Not even thy Clare can peace bestow 

While falsehood stains thy name : 
Go then to fight ! Clare bids thee go ! 
Clare can a warrior's feelings know 305 

And weep a warrior's shame ; 
Can Red Earl Gilbert's ^ spirit feel. 
Buckle the spurs upon thy heel 
And belt thee with thy brand of steel, 

And send thee forth to fame I ' 310 

XI. 

That night upon the rocks and bay 
The midnight moonbeam slumbering lay. 
And poured its silver light and pure 
Through loophole and through embrasure ^ 

1 Red Earl Gilbert : Lady Clare was a descendant of Red Earl Gilbert. 
See p. 228, line 128. 

2 Embrasure : the opening in a parapet or wall through which cannon 
are tired. 



236 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Upon Tantallon tower and hall ; 315 

But chief where arched windows wide 
Illuminate the chapel's pride 

The sober glances fall. 
Much was there need ; though seamed with scars, 
Two veterans of the Douglas' wars, 320 

Though two gray priests were there. 
And each a blazing torch held high, 
You could not by their blaze descry 

The chapel's carving fair. 
Amid that dim and smoky light, 325 

Checkering the silvery moonshine bright, 

A bishop 1 by the altar stood, 

A noble lord of Douglas blood. 
With mitre 2 sheen and rochet^ white. 
Yet showed his meek and thoughtful eye 330 

But little pride of prelacy ; 
More pleased that in a barbarous age 
He gave rude Scotland Virgil's page 
Than that beneath his rule he held 
The bishopric of fair Dunkeld. 335 

Beside him ancient Angus stood. 
Doffed his furred gown and sable hood ; 
O'er his huge form and visage pale 
He wore a cap and shirt of mail. 
And leaned his large and wrinkled hand 340 

1 A bishop : " this," says Scott, " was Gawain Douglas, son of Archibald 
Bell-the-Cat, Earl of Angus, though at this period he had not attained the 
mitre." ^ 

2 Mitre : a tall, pointed, cleft cap worn by bishops and other high eccle- 
siastical dignitaries. 

3 Eochet : a short, upper garment with tight sleeves and open sides 
worn by bishops and other ecclesiastics. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 237 



Upon the huge and sweeping brand 
Which wont of yore in battle fray 
His foeman's limbs to shred ^ away, 
As wood-knife lops the sapling spray. 

He seemed as, from the tombs around 345 

Rising at judgment-day, 

Some giant Douglas may be found 
In all his old array ; 
So pale his face, so huge his limb, 
So old his arms, his look so grim. 350 

XII. 

Then at the altar Wilton kneels. 
And Clare the spurs bound on his heels ; 
And think what next he must have felt 
At buckling of the falchion belt ! 

And judge how Clara changed her hue 355 

While fastening to her lover's side 
A friend, which, though in danger tried, 

He once had found untrue ! 2 
Then Douglas struck him with his blade : 
' Saint Michael and Saint Andrew aid, 360 

I dub thee knight. 
Arise, Sir Ralph, De Wilton's heir ! 
For king, for church, for lady fair. 

See that thou fight.' 
And Bishop Gawain, as he rose, 365 

Said : ' Wilton ! grieve not for thy woes, 

1 Shred : to trim, or to cut into shreds. 

2 Untrue : alluding to the fact that in his contest with Marmion (see 
Canto v., xxi.) his sword had failed him. 



238 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Disgrace, and trouble ; 
For He who honor best bestows 

May give thee double.' 
De Wilton sobbed, for sob he must : 370 

' Where'er I meet a Douglas, trust 

That Douglas is my brother ! ' 
' Nay, nay,' old Angus said, ' not so ; 
To Surrey's camp thou now must go, 

Thy wrongs no longer smother. 375 

I have two sons in yonder field; 
And, if thou meet'st them under shield, 
Upon them bravely — do thy worst, 
And foul fall him^ that blenches ^ first ! ' 



XIII. 

Not far advanced was morning day 380 

When Marmion did his troop array 

To Surrey's camp to ride ; 
He had safe-conduct^ for his band 
Beneath the royal seal and hand. 

And Douglas gave a guide. 385 

The ancient earl with stately grace 
Would Clara on her palfrey place, 
And whispered in an undertone, 
' Let the hawk stoop, his prey is flown.' 
The train * from out the castle drew, 390 

But Marmion stopped to bid adieu : 

1 Foul fall him : evil befall him?^ -^_ ,, 

2 Blenches : shrinks, starts back. 

3 Safe-conduct : a written pass giving one safe passage through a 
hostile country. 

4 Train : band of troops. 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 239 

' Though something I might plain,' i he said, 
' Of cold respect to stranger guest. 
Sent hither by your king's behest. 

While in Tantallon's towers I stayed, 395 

Part we in friendship from your land, 
And, noble earl, receive my hand.' — 
But Douglas round him drew his cloak. 
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke : — 
' My manors,^ halls, and bowers shall still 400 

Be open at my sovereign's will 
To each one whom he lists, howe'er 
Unmeet^ to be the owner's peer.* 
My castles are my king's alone. 
From turret to foundation-stone — 405 

The hand of Douglas is his own. 
And never shall in friendly grasp 
The hand of such as Marmion clasp.' 

XIV. 

Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire 

And shook his very frame for ire, 410 

And — ' This to me ! ' he said, 
' An 'twere not for thy hoary beard, 
Such hand as Marmion's had not spared 

To cleave the Douglas' head ! 
And first I tell thee, haughty peer, 415 

He who does England's message here. 
Although the mealiest in her state, 

1 Plain : complain. 

2 Manors : a manor was originally a mansion, a dwelling (compare 
Latin manere, French manoir, to remain or dwell) ; generally, the estates 
of a person of rank, 3 Unmeet : unfit. 

^ Peer (from Latin par, equal) : equal ; one of the same rank. 



240 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

May well, proud Angus, be thy mate ; 
And, Douglas, more I tell thee, here, 

Even in thy pitch of pride,^ 420 

Here in thy hold, thy vassals near, — 
Nay, never look upon your lord, 
And lay your hands upon your sword,^ — 

I tell thee, thou'rt defied ! 
And if thou saidst I am not peer 425 

To any lord in Scotland here, 
Lowland or Highland, far or near, 

Lord Angus, thou hast lied 1 ' 
On the earl's cheek the flush of rage 
O'ercame the ashen hue of age : 430 

Fierce he broke forth, — ' And darest thou then 
To beard the lion in his den, 

The Douglas in his hall ? 
And hopest thou hence unscathed ^ to go? — 
No, by Saint Bride* of Bothwell, no ! 435 

Up drawbridge, grooms — what, warder, ho ! 

Let the portcullis fall.' — 
Lord Marmion turned, — well was his need, — 
And dashed the rowels ^ in his steed. 
Like arrow through the archway sprung, 440 

1 Pitch of pride : this expression may mean height of pride or haughty 
power; {e.g. "Boniface the Third, in whom was the intch of pride, and 
height of aspiring haughtiness "—Fuller) or it may be used for the castle 
itself. 

2 Your sword : this is addressed to the vassals of Douglas. 

3 "Unscathed : unharmed. 

4 Saint Bride : St. Bridget of Ir^^and. In Scotland and England, 
where many churches were dedicated to her, she was commonly known 
as St. Bride. There is a church of St. Bride at Bothwell on the Clyde, 
near Glasgow. 

5 Rowels : the little wheels of spurs, armed with sharp points. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 241 



The ponderous grate behind him rung ; 
To pass there was such scanty room, 
The bars descending razed ^ his plume. 

XV. 

The steed along the drawbridge flies 

Just as it trembled on the rise ; 445 

Not lighter does the swallow skim 

Along the smooth lake's level brim : 

And when Lord Marmion reached his band, 

He halts, and turns with clenched hand, 

And shout of loud defiance pours, 450 

And shook his gauntlet ^ at the towers. 

' Horse ! horse ! ' the Douglas cried, ' and chase ! ' 

But soon he reined his fury's pace : 

'A royal messenger he came. 

Though most unworthy of the name. — 455 

A letter forged ! Saint Jude to speed ! ^ 

Did ever knight so foul a deed ? 

At first in heart it liked me* ill 

When the king praised his clerkly skill. 

Thanks to Saint Bo than, son of mine, 460 

Save Gawain, ne'er could pen a line ; 

So swore I, and I swear it still, 

Let my boy-bishop fret his fill. — 

Saint Mary mend my fiery mood ! 

Old age ne'er cools the Douglas blood, 465 

1 Kazed : grazed. 

2 Gauntlet : an iron glove such as was worn by knights when fully 
armed. 

3 Saint Jude to speed : St. Jude protect me. 

4 Liked me : I liked. 



242 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

I thought to slay him where he stood. 

'Tis pity of him too,' he cried : 

' Bold can he speak and fairly ride, 

I warrant him a warrior tried.' 

With this his mandate he recalls, 47o 

And slowly seeks his castle halls. 

XVI. 

The day in Marmion's journey wore ; 

Yet, ere his passion's gust was o'er. 

They crossed the heights of Stanrig-moor.^ 

His troop more closely there he scanned, 475 

And missed the Palmer from the band. 

' Palmer or not,' young Blount did say, 

' He parted at the peep of day ; 

Good sooth, it was in strange array.' 

' In what array ? ' said Marmion quick. 480 

'My lord, I ill can spell ^ the trick; 

But all night long with clink and bang 

Close to my couch did hammers clang ; 

At dawn the falling drawbridge rang, 

And from a loophole while I peep, 485 

Old Bell-the-Cat came from the keep. 

Wrapped in a gown of sables fair. 

As fearful of the morning air ; 

Beneath, when that was blown aside, 

A rusty shirt of mail I spied, 490 

By Archibald won in bloody work 

Against the Saracen ^ and Turk: 



1 Stanrig-moor : south of Tantallon Castle. 

2 Spell : make out, understand. 



3 Saracen : an Arab or Mohammedan, especially a Mohammedan hos- 
tile to the crusaders. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 243 



Last night it hung not in the hall ; 

I thought some marvel would befall. 

And next I saw them saddled lead 495 

Old Cheviot forth, the earl's best steed, 

A matchless horse, though something old, 

Prompt in his paces, cool and bold. 

I heard the Sheriff Sholto say 

The earl did much the Master ^ pray 500 

To use him on the battle-day; 

But he preferred ' — ' Nay, Henry ,2 cease ! 

Thou sworn horse-courser,^ hold thy peace. — 

Eustace, thou bear'st a brain* — I pray. 

What did Blount see at break of day ? ' — 505 

XVII. 

* In brief, my lord, we both descried — 
For then I stood by Henry's side — 
The Palmer mount and outwards ride 

Upon the earl's own favorite steed. 
All sheathed he was in armor bright, 510 

And much resembled that same knight 
Subdued by you in Cotswold fight ; 

Lord Angus wished him speed.' — 
The instant that Fitz-Eustace spoke, 
A sudden light on Marmion broke : — 515 

'Ah! dastard^ fool, to reason lost! ' 
He muttered ; ' 'Twas nor fay nor ghost 

1 The Master : his eldest son, the Master of Angus. 

2 Henry : Henry Blount. 

3 Horse-courser : one who runs or keeps race-horses. 

4 Bear'st a brain : hast a head on thy shoulders. 

5 Dastard : coward. 



244 MARMION. 



CANTO VI. 



I met upon the moonlight wold, 
But living man of earthly mould. — 

dotage blind and gross ! 520 
Had I but fought as wont, one thrust 

Had laid De Wilton in the dust, 

My path no more to cross. — 
How stand we now ? — he told his tale 
To Douglas, and with some avail ; 525 

'Twas therefore gloomed ^ his rugged brow. — 
Will Surrey dare to entertain 
'Gainst Marmion. charge disproved and vain? 

Small risk of that, I trow. 
Yet Clare's sharp questions must I shun, 530 

Must separate Constance from the nun — 
Oh I what a tangled web we weave 
When first we practise ^ to deceive ! 
A Palmer too ! — no wonder why 
I felt rebuked beneath his eye ; 535 

I might have known there was but one 
Whose look could quell Lord Marmion.' 

XVIII. 

Stung with these thoughts, he urged to speed 
His troop, and reached at eve the Tweed, 
When Lennel's convent^ closed their march. — 540 
There now is left but one frail arch, 

Yet mourn thou not its cells ; 
Our time a fair exchange Jaas made : 

1 Grloomed : darkened or frowned. 

2 Practise : scheme or plot. 

3 Lennel's convent : a convent very near Flodden Field. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 245 



555 



Hard by, in hospitable shade, 

A reverend pilgrim ^ dwells, 545 

Well worth the whole Bernardine ^ brood 
That e'er wore sandal, frock, or hood. — 
Yet did Saint Bernard's abbot there 
Give Marmion entertainment fair, 
And lodging for his train and Clare. 550 

Next morn the baron climbed the tower. 
To view afar the Scottish power, 

Encamped on Flodden edge ; ^ 
The white pavilions made a show 
Like remnants of the winter snow 

Along the dusky ridge. 
Long Marmion looked : — at length his eye 
Unusual movement might descry 

Amid the shifting lines ; 
The Scottish host drawn out appears, 560 

For, flashing on the hedge of spears, 

The eastern sunbeam shines. 
Their front now deepening, now extending. 
Their flank inclining, wheeling, bending. 
Now drawing back, and now descending, 565 

The skilful Marmion well could know 
They watched the motions of some foe 
Who traversed on the plain below. 

XIX. 

Even so it was. From Flodden ridge 

The Scots beheld the English host 570 

1 Pilgrim: Patrick Brydone, Esq., who at that time lived in Lennel's 
House. 



Bernardine : pertainino^ to St. Bernard's order, the Cistercians. 
Flodden edge : Flodden hill. 



246 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Leave Barmore-wood,^ their evening post, 

And heedful watched them as they crossed 
The Till by Twisel Bridge.^ 

High sight it is and haughty, while 

They dive into the deep defile ; 575 

Beneath the caverned cliff they fall, 

Beneath the castle's airy wall. 
By rock, by oak, by hawthorn-tree 

Troop after troop are disappearing ; 

Troop after troop their banners rearing 580 

Upon the eastern bank you see ; 
Still pouring down the rocky den 

Where flows the sullen Till, 
And rising from the dim-wood glen. 
Standards on standards, men on men, 585 

In slow succession still, 
And sweeping o'er the Gothic arch, 
And pressing on, in ceaseless march, 

To gain the opposing hill. 
That m6rn, to many a trumpet clang, 590 

Twisel! thy rock's deep echo rang; 
And many a chief of birth and rank. 
Saint Helen ! ^ at thy fountain drank. 
Thy hawthorn glade, which now we see 
In spring-tide bloom so lavishly, 595 

1 Barmore-wood : it is not far from Flodden, on the east of the Till. 
Flodden is on the opposite side. 

2 Twisel Bridge: the ancient bridge of Twisel, by which the English 
crossed the Till, is still standing? says .Scott, beneath Twisel Castle, a 
splendid pile of Gothic architecture, as now rebuilt by Sir Francis 
Blake. 

3 Saint Helen : beneath a tall rock near the bridge, says Scott, is a 
plentiful fountain called St. Helen's Well. 



CANTO TI. 



THE BATTLE. 247 



Had then from many an axe its doom, 
To give the marching columns room. 

XX. 

And why stands Scotland idly now, 

Dark Flodden ! on thy airy brow, 

Since England gains the pass the while, 600 

And struggles through the deep defile ? 

What checks the fiery soul of James ? 

Why sits that champion of the dames 

Inactive on his steed, 
And sees, between him and his land, 605 

Between him and Tweed's southern strand. 

His host Lord Surrey lead ? 
What vails ^ the vain knight-errant's brand? — 
O Douglas, for thy leading wand ! 

Fierce Randolph, for thy speed ! 610 

Oh ! for one hour of Wallace wight, 
Or well-skilled Bruce, to rule the fight 
And cry, ' Saint Andrew ^ and our right ! ' 
Another sight had seen that morn. 
From Fate's dark book a leaf been torn, 615 

And Flodden had been Bannockbourne ! ^ — 
The precious hour has passed in vain. 
And England's host has gained the plain, 

1 Vails : this has usually been thought to be a contraction of avails, but 
Rolfe understands it to mean " lowers " in sense of " keeps idle." 

2 Saint Andrew : the patron saint of Scotland. 

3 Bannockbourne : Bannockburn, a town of Scotland near Stirling on 
the Bannock, an aflfluent of the Forth. Here, in 1314, the Scots gained a 
great victory over the English, and Bruce taught Edward II. that Scottish 
footmen, skilfully handled, could defeat the boasted cavalry which Eng- 
land had thought invincible. 



248 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Wheeling their march and circling still 

Around the base of Flodden hill. 620 



XXI. 

Ere yet the bands met Marmion's eye, 
Fitz-Eustace shouted loud and high, 
' Hark ! hark ! my lord, an English drum ! 
And see ascending squadrons come 

Between Tweed's river and the hill, 625 

Foot, horse, and cannon ! Hap what hap,^ 
My basnet 2 to a prentice cap. 

Lord Surrey's o'er the Till ! — 
Yet more ! yet more ! — how fair arrayed 
They file from out the hawthorn shade, 630 

And sweep so gallant by ! 
With all their banners bravely spread. 

And all their armor flashing high. 
Saint George might waken from the dead. 

To see fair England's standards fly.' — 635 

' Stint in thy prate,' ^ quoth Blount, ' thou'dst best. 
And listen to our lord's behest.' — 
With kindling brow Lord Marmion said, 
' This instant be our band arrayed ; 
The river must be quickly crossed, 640 

That we may join Lord Surrey's host. 
If fight King James, — as well I trust 

1 Hap what hap : happen what may. 

2 Basnet: a steel cap having, at this period, a visor for covering the 
face. It was much lighter than the older-fashioned helmet. I'll wager 
my helmet against an apprentice's cap. Apprentices formerly wore a pecu- 
liar cap to mark their condition. 

2 Stint in thy prate : hold your tongue. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 249 



That fight he will, and fight he must, — 

The Lady Clare behind our lines 

Shall tarry while the battle joins.' ^ 645 



XXII. 

Himself he swift on horseback threw. 

Scarce to the abbot ^ bade adieu. 

Far less would listen to his prayer 

To leave behind the helpless Clare. 

Down to the Tweed his band he drew, 650 

And muttered as the flood they view, 

' The pheasant in the falcon's claw. 

He scarce will yield to please a daw ; ^ 

Lord Angus may the abbot awe,^ 

So Clare shall bide with me.' . 655 

Then on that dangerous ford and deep 
Where to the Tweed Leat's eddies^ creep 

He ventured desperately : 
And not a moment will he bide 
Till squire or groom before him ride ; 660 

Headmost of all he stems the tide, 

And stems it gallantly. 

1 Battle joins : the fight goes on. 

2 Abbot : the abbot of Lennel convent. See stanza xviii. 

3 Daw : the jackdaw, a bird of the crow family, frequents church 
steeples. Its constant chattering has gained for it the reputation of being 
a foolish bird. Marmion, comparing himself to the fierce falcon, declares 
that he will not give up the Lady Clare to please any chattering daw-like 
priest or abbot. 

4 Awe: the meaning appears to be. Lord Angus may (might) awe or 
frighten the abbot into giving up the Lady Clare, therefore she "shall 
bide with me." 

^ Leat's eddies : the Leat is a small stream flowing into the Tweed. 



250 MARMION. CANTO vi. 

Eustace held Clare upon her horse, 

Old Hubert led her rein, 
Stoutly they braved the current's course, 665 

And, though far downward driven perforce. 

The southern bank they gain. 
Behind them straggling came to shore, 

As best they might, the train : 
Each o'er his head his yew-bow ^ bore, 670 

A caution not in vain ; 
Deep need that day that every string. 
By wet unharmed, should sharply ring. 
A moment then Lord Marmion stayed, 
And breathed his steed,^ his men arrayed, 675 

Then forward moved his band, 
Until, Lord Surrey's rear-guard won, 

He halted by a cross of stone. 
That on a hillock standing lone 

Did all the field command. 680 

XXIII. 

Hence might they see the full array 

Of either host for deadly fray ; 

Their marshalled lines ^ stretched east and west. 

And fronted north and south. 
And distant salutation passed 685 

From the loud cannon mouth ; 
Not in the close successive rattle 

1 Yew-Tjow : the yew was thought to make the toughest and best bows. 
Each archer in fording the stream held his bow high above his head to 
prevent the string from being harmed by wet. 

2 Breathed his steed ; gave his steed an opportunity to recover breath. 
8 Marshalled lines : lines of men drawn up in order of battle. 



) Ti. THE BATTLE. 251 

That breathes the voice of modern battle, 

But slow and far between. 
The hillock gained, Lord Marmion stayed : 690 

' Here, by this cross,' he gently said, 

' You well may view the scene. 
Here shalt thou tarry, lovely Clare : 
Oh ! think of Marmion in thy prayer ! — 
Thou wilt not ? — well, no less my care 695 

Shall, watchful, for thy weal prepare. — 
You, Blount and Eustace, are her guard, 

With ten picked archers of my train ; 
With England if the day go hard. 

To Berwick speed amain. — 700 

But if we conquer, cruel maid. 
My spoils shall at your feet be laid. 

When here we meet again.' 
He waited not for answer there, 
And would not mark the maid's despair, 705 

Nor heed the discontented look 
From either squire, but spurred amain, 
And, dashing through the battle-plain, 

His way to Surrey took. 

XXIV. 

' The good Lord Marmion, by my life ! 710 

Welcome to danger's hour I — 
Short greeting serves in time of strife. — 

Thus have I ranged my power; 
Myself will rule this central host. 

Stout ^ Stanley fronts their right, 715 

1 stout : valiant. 



252 MAKMION. CANTO yi. 

My sons command the vaward^ post, 

With Brian Tunstall,^ stainless knight ; 

Lord Dacre, with his horsemen light, 

Shall be in rearward of the fight, 
And succor those that need it most. 720 

Now, gallant Marmion, well I know, 

Would gladly to the vanguard ^ go ; 
Edmund,^ the Admiral,^ Tunstall there, 
With thee their charge will blithely share ; 
There fight thine own retainers too 725 

Beneath De Burg, thy steward true.' 
' Thanks, noble Surrey ! ' Marmion said. 
Nor further greeting there he paid, 
But, parting like a thunderbolt. 
First in the vanguard made a halt, 730 

Where such a shout there rose 
Of ' Marmion ! Marmion ! ' that the cry, 
Up Flodden mountain shrilling high. 

Startled the Scottish foes. 



XXV. 

Blount and Fitz-Eustace rested still 735 

With Lady Clare upon the hill, 

1 Vaward: vanguard or advance force. 

2 Tunstall : Sir Brian Tunstall, says Scott, was one of the few English- 
men of rank slain at Flodden. He, perhaps, derived his epithet of " stain- 
less " from his white armor and banner. 

3 Vanguard : advance guard. 

4 Edmund : Sir Edmund Howard, the knight marshal of the army. 

5 The Admiral: Thomas Howard^ jbhe^ admiral of England. He and 
Edmund were sons of the Earl of Surrey. They commanded divisions on 
the right wing of the English forces. Surrey commanded the centre ; Sir 
Edward Stanley the left wing, and Lord Dacre with a large body of cavalry 
formed a reserve. 



CANTO VI, 



THE BATTLE. 253 



On which — for far the day was spent — 

The western sunbeams now were bent ; 

The cry they heard, its meaning knew, 

Could plain their distant comrades view : 740 

Sadly to Blount did Eustace say, 

' Unworthy office here to stay ! 

No hope of gilded spurs ^ to-day. — 

But see ! look up — on Flodden bent^ 

The Scottish foe has fired liis tent.' ^ 745 

And sudden, as he spoke. 
From the sharp ridges of the hill, 
All downward to the banks of Till, 

Was wreathed in sable smoke, 
Volumed and vast, and rolling far, 750 

The cloud enveloped Scotland's war 

As down the hill they broke ; 
Nor martial shout, nor minstrel tone. 
Announced their march ; their tread alone. 
At times one warning trumpet blown, 755 

At times a stifled hum. 
Told England, from his mountain-throne 

King James did rushing come. 
Scarce could th'ey hear or see their foes 
Until at weapon-point they close. — 760 

They close in clouds of smoke and dust. 
With sword-sway and with lance's thrust ; 

And such a yell was there. 



1 Gilded spurs : " no hope of gilded spurs, " — no hope of our winning the 
honor of knighthood (of which the gilded spurs were the badge), if we stay- 
here at a distance from the battle. 2 Bent : see note on " Bent," p. 50. 

3 Fired his tent : apparently to show that there was to be no retreat — 
it was to be victory or death. 



254 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Of sudden and portentous birth, 

As if men fought upon the earth, 765 

And fiends in upper air ; 
Oh ! life and death were in the shout, 
Recoil and rally, charge and rout, 

And triumph and despair. 
Long looked the anxious squires ; their eye 770 

Could in the darkness nought descry. 

XXVI. 

At length the freshening western blast 

Aside the shroud of battle cast ; 

And first the ridge of mingled spears 

Above the brightening cloud appears, 775 

And in the smoke the pennons flew. 

As in the storm the white seamew. 

Then marked they, dashing broad and far. 

The broken billows of the war, 

And plumed crests of chieftains brave 780 

Floating like foam upon the wave ; 

But nought distinct they see : 
Wide raged the battle on the plain ; 
Spears shook and falchions flashed amain ; 
Fell England's arrow-flight like rain ; 785 

Crests rose, and stooped, and rose again, 

Wild and disorderly. 
Amid the scene of tumult, high 
They saw Lord Marmion's falcon ^ fly ; 
And stainless TunstaP/s ^banner white, 790. 

And Edmund Howard's lion bright,^ 

1 Falcon : the falcon represented on his banner. 

2 Lion bright : on Howard's banner. 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 255 

Still bare them bravely in the fight, 

Although against them come 
Of gallant Gordons man}^ a one, 
And many a stubborn Badenoch-man,i 795 

And many a rugged Border clan, 

With Huntly and with Home. 

xxvri. 

Far on the left, unseen the while, 

Stanley broke ^ Lennox and Argyle, 

Though there the western mountaineer 800 

Rushed with bare bosom on the spear. 

And flung the feeble targe aside. 

And with both hands the broadsword plied. 

'Twas vain. — But Fortune, on the right. 

With fickle smile cheered Scotland's fight. 805 

Then fell that spotless banner Avhite, 

The Howard's lion fell ; 
Yet still Lord Marmion's falcon flew 
With wavering flight, Avhile fiercer grew 

Around the battle-yell. 810 

The Border slogan rent the sky ! 
A Home ! a Gordon ! was the cry : 

Loud were the clanging blows ; 
Advanced, — forced back, — now low, now high. 

The pennon sunk and rose ; 815 

As bends the bark's mast in the gale, 
When rent are rigging, shrouds, and sail, 

1 Badenoch-man : a man from the district of Badenoch in the High- 
lauds of Scotland. 

" Stanley broke : broke the lines of the Scottish forces led by Lennox 
and Argyle. 



256 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

It wavered mid the foes. 
No longer Blount the view could bear : 
' By heaven and all its saints ! I swear 820 

I will not see it lost ! 
Fitz-Eustace, you with Lady Clare 
May bid your beads ^ and patter ^ prayer, — 

I gallop to the host.' 
And to the fray he rode amain, 825 

Followed by all the archer train. 
The fiery youth, with desperate charge, 
Made for a space an opening large, — 

The rescued banner rose, — 
But darkly closed the war around, 830 

Like pine-tree rooted from the ground 

It sank among the foes. 
Then Eustace mounted too, — yet stayed. 
As loath to leave the helpless maid. 

When, fast as shaft can fly, 835 

Bloodshot his eyes, his nostrils spread. 
The loose rein dangling from his head. 
Housing and saddle bloody red. 

Lord Marmion's steed rushed by ; 
And Eustace, maddening at the sight, 840 

A look and sign to Clara cast 

To mark he would return in haste, 
Then plunged into the fight. 

XXVIII. 

Ask me not what the maiden feels. 

Left in that dreadful hour alone : 845 

1 Bid your beads : say a prayer for each bead of the chaplet or rosary. 

2 Patter : mumble hurriedly. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 257 



Perchance her reason stoops or reels ; 

Perchance a courage, not her own, 

Braces her mind to desperate tone. — 
The scattered van ^ of England wheels ; — 

She only said, as loud in air 850 

The tumult roared, ' Is Wilton there ? ' — 

They fly, or, maddened by despair. 

Fight but to die, — ' Is Wilton there ? ' 
With that, straight up the hill there rode 

Two horsemen drenched with gore, 855 

And in their arms, a helpless load, 

A wounded knight they bore. 
His hand still strained the broken brand ; 
His arms were smeared with blood and sand. 
Dragged from among the horses' feet, 860 

With dinted shield and helmet beat, 
The falcon crest and plumage gone. 
Can that be haughty Marmion ! . . . 
Young Blount his armor did unlace. 
And, gazing on his ghastly face, 865 

Said, ' By Saint George, he's gone ! 
That spear-wound has our master sped,^ 
And see the deep cut on his head ! 

Good-night to Marmion.' — 
'Unnurtured'^ Blount ! thy brawling cease : 870 

He opes his eyes,' said Eustace ; ' peace ! ' 

XXIX. 

When, doffed his casque, he felt free air, 
Around gan Marmion wildly stare : 

1 Van : advance forces. 2 Sped : dispatched, killed. 

3 Unnurtured : ill-bred, rude, ignorant. 



258 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

' Where's Harry Blount ? Fitz-Eustace where ? 

Linger ye here, ye hearts of hare ! 875 

Jledeem my pennon, — charge again ! 

Cry, " Marmion to the rescue ! " — Vain ! 

Last of my race, on battle-plain 

That shout shall ne'er be heard again 1 — 

Yet my last thought is England's — fly, 880 

To Dacre bear my signet-ring ; ^ 
Tell him his squadrons ^ up to bring. — 

Fitz-Eustace, to Lord Surrey hie : 
Tunstall lies dead upon the field, 
His lifeblood stains the spotless shield ; 885 

Edmund is down ; my life is reft ; ^ 
The Admiral alone is left. 
Let Stanley charge with spur of fire, — 
With Chester charge, and Lancashire, 
Full upon Scotland's central host, 890 

Or victory and England's lost. — 
Must I bid twice ? — hence, varlets I * fly ! — 
Leave Marmion here alone — to die. ' 
They parted, and alone he lay ; 
Clare drew her from the sight away, 895 

Till pain wrung forth a lowly moan. 

And half he murmured, ' Is there none 
Of all my halls have nurst, 

Page, squire, or groom, one cup to bring 



1 Signet-ring : a ring containing a signet or private seal ; the ring would 
prove to Lord Dacre that Marmion, himself, sent th3 order. 

2 Squadrons : divisions or bodies ottroops. 

3 Reft : taken, torn away by violence. 

4 Varlets : (from vaslets, a diminutive of vassals,) followers ; but here 
the word appears to be used angrily in the sense of rascals. 



QIO 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 259 

Of blessed water from the spring, 900 

To slake my dying thirst ! ' 

XXX. 

' O Woman ! in our hours of ease 
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, 
And variable as the shade 

By the light quivering aspen made ; 905 

When pain and anguish wring the brow, 
A ministering angel thou ! — 
Scarce were the piteous accents said, 
When with the baron's casque the maid 

To the nigh streamlet ran ; 
Forgot were hatred, wrongs, and fears ; 
The plaintive voice alone she hears. 

Sees but the dying man. 
She stooped her by the runnel's 1 side. 

But in abhorrence backward drew ; 
For, oozing from the mountain's side 
Where raged the war, a dark-red tide 

Was curdling in the streamlet blue. 
Where shall she turn ? — behold her mark 

A little fountain cell. 
Where water, clear as diamond-spark, 

In a stone basin fell. 
Above, some half-worn letters say, 
grink. fo^arg. pilgrim, brink, anb. prag. 
Jor. t^e. kinb. soul. of. ^ibgl iircg. 925 

SS^o. IjuHt. t^is. cross, anb. Ml, 
She filled the helm and back she hied, 

1 Kunnel : a rivulet. 



915 



920 



260 MARMION. 



CANTO VI. 



And with surprise and joy espied 

A monk supporting Marmion's head ; 

A pious man, whom duty brought 930 

To dubious verge of battle fought, 
To shrive the dying, bless the dead. 

XXXI. 

Deep drank Lord Marmion of the wave, 

And, as she stooped his brow to lave — 

' Is it the hand of Clare,' he said, 935 

' Or injured Constance, bathes my head ? ' 

Then, as remembrance rose, — 
' Speak not to me of shrift ^ or prayer ! 

I must redress her woes. 
Short space, few words, are mine to spare ; 940 

Forgive and listen, gentle Clare ! ' — 

' Alas ! ' she said, ' the while, — 
Oh ! think of your immortal weal ! 
In vain for Constance is your zeal ; 

She — died at Holy Isle.' — 945 

Lord Marmion started from the ground 
As light as if he felt no wound. 
Though in the action burst the tide 
In torrents from his wounded side. 
' Then it was truth,' he said — ' I knew 950 

That the dark presage ^ must be true. — 
I would the Fiend, to whom belongs 
The vengeance due to all her wrongs, 

1 Shrift : confession made to a priest, and pardon granted by him in 
consequence of the confession. 

2 Presage : foreboding. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 261 



Would spare me but a day ! 
For wasting fire, and dying groan, 955 

And priests slain on the altar stone. 

Might bribe him for delay. 
It may not be ! — this dizzy trance — 
Curse on yon base marauder's lance. 
And doubly cursed my failing brand I 960 

A sinful heart makes feeble hand.' 
Then fainting down on earth he sunk, 
Supported by the trembling monk. 

XXXII. 

With fruitless labor Clara bound 

And strove to stanch the gushing wound ; 965 

The monk with unavailing cares 

Exhausted all the Church's prayers. 

Ever, he said, that, close and near, 

A lady's voice ^ was in his ear, 

And that the priest he could not hear ; 970 

For that she ever sung, 
''hi the lost battle^ home doivn by the flying^ 
IVTiere mingles war's rattle ivith groans of the dying! ' 

So the notes rung. — 
' Avoid thee,^ Fiend ! — with cruel hand 975 

Shake not the dying sinner's sand ! ^ — 
Oh! look, my son, upon yon sign^ 

1 A lady's voice : the voice of Constance. 

2 In the lost battle : the song of Constance. See Canto III,, line 170. 

3 Avoid thee : away with thee, depart. 

4 Sand : alluding to shaking an hour-glass in order to hasten the run- 
ning out of the sand; hence, to shake "the dying sinner's sand" is to 
hasten his death and his departure to perdition. 

s Si^n : the crucifix. 



262 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Of the Redeemer's grace divine ; 

Oh ! think on faith and bliss I — 
By many a death-bed I have been, 980 

And many a sinner's parting seen, 

But never aught like this.' — 
The war, that for a space did fail, 
Now trebly thundering swelled the gale, 

And ' Stanley ! ' was the cry. — 985 

A light on Marmion's visage spread, 

And fired his glazing eye ; 
With dying hand above his head 
He shook the fragment of his blade. 

And shouted ' Victory ! — 990 

Charge, Chester, charge I On, Stanley, on ! ' 
"Were the last words of Marmion. 



XXXIII. 

By this, though deep the evening fell. 
Still rose the battle's deadly swell. 
For still the Scots around their king, 995 

Unbroken, fought in desperate ring. 
Where's now their victor vaward wing, 
Where Huntly, and where Home ? — 
Oh ! for a blast of that dread horn,^ 



1 That dread horn: the magic horn of Roland, a nephew of Charle- 
magne. In 778, when Charlemagne was returning from Spain to France, 
the rear of his army, under the command of Roland, was attacked in the 
passes of the Pyrenees hy the Basques4)r Gascons — a people of that region 
— and was entirely cut to pieces. Roland might have brought Charle- 
magne to his help by a blast of his horn, but did not use it until too late. 
The Song of Roland was known throughout Europe during the Middle 
Ages. 



CANTO VI. 



THE BATTLE. 263 



On Fontarabian ^ echoes borne, looo 

That to King Charles did come, 
When Rowland brave, and OliYier,^ 
And every paladin ^ and peer, 

On Roncesvalles* died! 
Such blasts might warn them, not in vain, 1005 

To quit the plunder of the slain 
And turn the doubtful day again. 

While yet on Flodden side 
Afar the Royal Standard^ flies, 
And round it toils and bleeds and dies loio 

Our Caledonian ^ pride ! 
In vain the wish — for far away. 
While spoil and havoc mark their way, 
Near Sibyl's Cross the plunderers stray. — 
' O lady,' cried the monk, ' away ! ' 1015 

And placed her on her steed. 
And led her to the chapel fair 

Of Tilmouth upon Tweed. 



1 Fontarabian : Fontarabia, a Spanish frontier town near the foot of 
the Pyrenees. 

2 Rowland and Olivier : Rowland is another form for Roland ; Olivier 
or Oliver was a brother 'knight of equal celebrity. The proverb " A Row- 
land for an Oliver," that is, to give as good as one gets, referred originally 
to the two French warriors. 

3 Paladin : (from Latin Palatium, palace) knight, a warrior, originally 
one of the officers of the imperial palace of Charlemagne. 

^ Roncesvalles : a gorge of the Pyrenees, province of Navarre, Spain. 
It was in the gorge of Roncesvalles that the rear of Charlemagne's army 
was destroyed. 

s Soyal Standard : the royal banner of England having the royal arms 
— then the three leopards — to which the lion rampant of Scotland and the 
harp of Ireland were added by James I. The Royal Standard marks the 
presence of the sovereign or his representative. 

c Caledonian : Scottish. 



264 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

There all the night they spent in prayer, 

And at the dawn of morning there 1020 

She met her kinsman, Lord Fitz-Clare. 



XXXIV. 

But as they left the darkening heath 

More desperate grew the strife of death. 

The English shafts in volleys hailed, 

In headlong charge their horse assailed ; 1025 

Front, flank, and rear, the squadrons sweep 

To break the Scottish circle deep 

That fought around their king. 
But yet, though thick the shafts as snow. 
Though charging knights like whirlwinds go, 1030 
Though billmen ^ ply the ghastly blow, 

Unbroken was the ring ; 
The stubborn spearmen still made good 
Their dark impenetrable wood,^ 
Each stepping where his comrade stood 1035 

The instant that he fell. 
No thought was there of dastard flight ; 
Linked in the serried ^ phalanx * tight. 
Groom fought like noble, squire like knight, 

1 Billmen : men armed with bills, that is, with weapons combining the 
axe and spear. 

2 Impenetrable wood : the thousands of spears are here represented as 
forming a forest of weapons, at once dark and impenetrable to the attack- 
ing party. 

3 Serried : crowded, compact. .^ 

4 Phalanx: a body of troops drawn Tip in close order; originally a 
body of Macedonian troops drawn up so that their shields joined and their 
spears overlapped one another, presenting a firm, compact front to the 
enemy. 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 265 

As fearlessly and well, 1040 

Till utter darkness closed her wing 
O'er their thin host and wounded king. 
Then skilful Surrey's sage commands 
Led back from strife his shattered bands ; 

And from the charge they drew, 1045 

As mountain-waves from wasted lands 

Sweep back to ocean blue. 
Then did their loss his foemen know ; 
Their king, their lords, their mightiest low. 
They melted from the field, as snow, 1050 

When streams are swoln and south winds blow. 

Dissolves in silent dew. 
Tweed's echoes heard the ceaseless plash. 

While many a broken band 
Disordered through her currents dash, 1055 

To gain the Scottish land ; 
To town and tower, to down and dale. 
To tell red Flodden's dismal tale, 
And raise the universal wail. 

Tradition, legend, tune, and song 1060 

Shall many an age that wail prolong ; 
Still from the sire the son shall hear 
Of the stern strife and carnage drear 

Of Flodden's fatal field. 
Where shivered was fair Scotland's spear 1065 

And broken was her shield ! 

XXXV. 

Day dawns upon the mountain's side. — 
There, Scotland ! lay thy bravest pride, 



266 MAKMION. 



CANTO VI. 



Chiefs, knights, and nobles, many a one ; 

The sad survivors all are gone. — 1070 

View not that corpse mistrustfully, 

Defaced and mangled though it be ; 

Nor to yon Border castle high 

Look northward with upbraiding eye ; 

Nor cherish hope in vain 1075 

That, journeying far on foreign strand, 
The Royal Pilgrim to his land 

May yet return again. 
He saw the wreck his rashness wrought ; 
Reckless of life, he desperate fought, 1080 

And fell on Flodden plain : ^ 
And well in death his trusty brand. 
Firm clenched within his manly hand. 

Beseemed the monarch slain. 
But oh ! how changed since yon blithe night I ^ — 
Gladly I turn me from the sight 1086 

Unto my tale again. 



XXXVI. 

Short is my tale : — Fitz-Eustace' care 

A pierced and mangled body bare 

To moated ^ Lichfield's lofty pile ; * 1090 

1 Fell on Flodden plain : there cau be no doubt, says Scott, that King 
James fell in the battle of Flodden. He was killed within a lance's length 
of the Earl of Surrey. An unhewn column marks the spot where James 
fell, still called the King's Stone. 2 Blithe night : see Canto V., line 171. 

3 Moated : Lichfield Cathedral f Staffordshire) was surrounded at one 
time by strong walls and a moat, or broad, deep trench. The city itself, 
though it had no wall, formerly had a moat; hence this word " moated" 
may here refer either to the city or the cathedral. 

'' Lichfield's lofty pile : this is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 267 

And there, beneath the southern aisle, 

A tomb with Gothic sculpture fair 

Did long Lord Marmion's image bear. — 

Now vainly for its site you look ; 

'Twas levelled when fanatic Brook ^ 1095 

The fair cathedral stormed and took, 

But, thanks to Heaven and good Saint Chad,^ 

A guerdon ^ meet the spoiler had ! — 

There erst was martial Marmion found, 

His feet upon a couchant* hound, noo 

His hands to heaven upraised ; 
And all around, on scutcheon ^ rich. 
And tablet carved, and fretted niche. 

His arms and feats were blazed.^ 
And yet, though all was carved so fair, 1105 

And priest for Marmion breathed the prayer, 
The last Lord Marmion lay not there. 
From Ettrick woods a peasant swain 

England and is surmounted by three lofty spires. The greater part of the 
existing edifice dates from about 1250; the chief portions are of early 
English architecture. 

1 Brook : in the English Revolution of 1643, Lichfield Cathedral was 
garrisoned for the king. Lord Brook, who had vowed the destruction of 
every cathedral in England, attacked it with a body of Puritan troops, who 
eventually compelled its surrender. The victorious party turned the church 
into a prison, and wantonly destroyed much of the interior. 

2 Saint Chad : a religious hermit who lived in the seventh century near 
Lichfield. He founded the cathedral, and his statue still stands over the 
main entrance. 

3 Guerdon : recompense, reward ; here used ironically, since Brook was 
killed in his attack on the cathedral (St. Chad's Church), and he received 
his death-wound on St. Chad's day, 

4 Coucliant : in an attitude of repose. The efiigy or sculptured figure 
of Marmion on his tomb rests with the feet upon a couchant hound. 

5 Scutcheon : escutcheon, a shield bearing a coat-of-arms. 

6 Blazed : emblazoned, represented. 



268 MARMION. CANTO VI. 

Followed his lord to Flodden plain, — 

One of those flowers whom plaintive lay mo 

In Scotland mourns as ' wede away ' : ^ 

Sore wounded, Sibyl's Cross he spied, 

And dragged him to its foot, and died 

Close by the noble Marmion's side. 

The spoilers stripped and gashed the slain, 1115 

And thus their corpses were mista'en ; 

And thus in the proud baron's tomb 

The lowly woodsman took the room. 

XXXVII. 

Less easy task it were to show 

Lord Marmion's nameless grave and low. 1120 

They dug his grave e'en where he lay. 

But every mark is gone : 
Time's wasting hand has done away 
The simple Cross of Sibyl Grey, 

And broke her font ^ of stone ; 1125 

But yet from out the little hill 
Oozes the slender springlet ^ still. 

Oft halts the stranger there, 

1 Wede away : destroyed. The words are quoted from Jane Elliot's 
song of The Flowers of the Forest, and refer to the peasant lads of Ettrick 
Forest. 

" The Flowers of the Forest, that fought, aye the foremost, 
The prime of our land, lie cauld in the clay, 

******** 
The Flowers of the Forest are a' [all] wede away." 

— See Aitkin's Scottish Song. 
The editor is indebted for this reference and for a number of others to 
Mr. Thomas Davidson, of New York City. 

2 Font : the stone basin described in lines 922-920. 

3 Springlet : a little spring. 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 269 

For thence may best his curious eye 

The memorable field descry ; 1130 

And shepherd boys repair 1 
To seek the water-flag and rush, 
And rest them by the hazel bush, 

And plait their garlands fair. 
Nor dream they sit upon the grave 1135 

That holds the bones of Marmion brave. — 
When thou shalt find the little hill, 
With thy heart commune and be still. 
If ever in temptation strong 

Thou left'st the right path for the wrong, 1140 

If every devious step thus trod 
Still led thee further from the road. 
Dread thou to speak presumptuous doom 
On noble Marmion's lowly tomb ; 
But say, 'He died a gallant knight, 1145 

With sword in hand, for England's right.' 

XXXVIII. 

I do not rhyme to that dull elf ^ 

Who cannot image to himself 

That all through Flodden's dismal night 

Wilton was foremost in the fight, 1150 

That when brave Surrey's steed was slain 

'Twas Wilton mounted him again ; 

'Twas Wilton's brand that deepest hewed 

Amid the spearmen's stubborn wood : ^ 

1 Sepair : go often or habitually. 

2 Elf: here simpleton, dolt. 

3 Spearmen's stubborn wood : see note on " Wood," p. 264. 



270 MAKMION. 



CANTO VI. 



Unnamed by Holinshed or Hall,^ 1155 

He was the living soul of all ; 

That, after fight, his faith made plain, 

He won his rank and lands again. 

And charged ^ his old paternal shield 

With bearings 2 won on Flodden Field. 1160 

Nor sing I to that simple maid 

To whom it must in terms be said 

That king and kinsmen did agree 

To bless fair Clara's constancy ; 

Who cannot, unless I relate, 1165 

Faint to her mind the bridal's state, — 

That Wolsey's * voice the blessing spoke. 

More, Sands, and Denny ,^ passed the joke ; 

That bluff King Hal ^ the curtain drew," 

And Katherine's ^ hand the stocking threw ; ^ 1170 

1 Holinshed or Hall : writers of historical chronicles in the sixteenth 
century ; Shakespeare made great use of these chronicles in his historical 
plays. 

2 Charged : to charge a shield is to put certain bearings on it. 

3 Bearings : heraldic devices used in coats-of-arms. 
^Wolsey: Cardinal Wolsey. 

5 More, Sands, and Denny : Sir Thomas More succeeded Wolsey as 
Lord Chancellor ; he was beheaded by Henry VIII. Lord Sands and An- 
thony Denny (see Shakespeare's Henry VIII.). 

6 King Hal : King Henry VIIL 

7 Curtain drew : the curtain of the bridal bed. 

8 Katherine : Queen Katherine, first wife of Henry VHL 

9 Stocking threw : to throw the stocking at the bride or bridegroom 
was an old English custom. It appears to have originated in the belief 
expressed in the following lines : — 

•'Th' intent of flinging thus the hose 
Is to hit him or her oMh'^nose ; 
Who hits the mark thus o'er left shoulder, 
Must married be ere twelve months older." 

— See Brande's Popular Antiquities, II., 172. 
But compare Brewer's Reader's Handbook, "Saints for Classes" (Brides). 



CANTO VI. THE BATTLE. 271 

And afterwards, for many a day, 

That it was held enough to say. 

In blessing to a wedded pair, 

'Love they 1 like Wilton and like Clare !' 

1 Love they : may tiiey love. 



TO THE KEADER. 

Why then a final note prolong, 

Or lengthen out a closing song, 

Unless to bid the gentles speed, 

Who long have listed to my rede?^ 

To statesmen grave, if such may deign 5 

To read the minstrel's idle strain, 

Sound head, clean hand, and piercing wit. 

And patriotic heart — as Pitt ! 

A garland for the hero's crest. 

And twined by her he loves the best ! 10 

To every lovely lady bright, 

What can I wish but faithful knight ? 

To every faithful lover too. 

What can I wish but lady true ? 

And knowledge to the studious sage, 15 

And pillow soft to head of age ! 

To thee, dear school-boy, whom my lay 

Has cheated of thy hour of play. 

Light task and merry holiday ! 

To all, to each, a fair good -night, 20 

And pleasing dreams, and slumbers light ! 

1 L 'Envoy : from Old French envoij, literally a message ; here a closing 
word or postscript to enforce or recommend the poem. 

2 Rede : here story. 

(272) 



INDEX TO NOTES. 



Abbess of St. Hilda, 57. 
Abbot, 249. 
According, 65. 
Achaius, 135. 
Achievement, 16. 
Achievements, 167. 
Adept, 221. 
Admiral, 252. 
Adown, 226. 
Airy mound, 50. 
Aisle, Catherine's, 142. 
Aisle, Durham, 34. 
Aisles, 9. 
Albion, 6. 

Alexander III., 107. 
Alfred, 69. 
Alue, 62. 
Aloof, 96. 
Amadis, 16. 
Amain, 6. 
Amber, 216. 
Angels, 25. 
Angle, 122. 
Anglo-Norman, 165. 
Angus, 185. 
Anon, 90. 
Apostates, 59. 
Appealing me, 201. 
Arcades, 63. 
Arcadia, 124. 
Arch-fiend, 40. 
Arden wood, 120. 
Argent, 134. 
Ariel, 127. 



Armenie, 37. 
Arminius, 86. 
Armorial truncheon, 

134. 
Arms, Law of, 234. 
Array, 20. 
As, 199. 
Ascapart, 16. 
Ascension-day, 66. 
Ashestiel, 1. 
Athwart, 18. 
Attaints, 78. 
Aught, 126. 
Augured, 103. 
Augury, Vulgar, 232. 
Austin, 233. 
Aventayle, 162. 
Aves, 40. 
Avoid thee, 261. 
Avon, 87. 
Awe, 249. 

Awful summons, 199. 
Aye, 175. 
Ayton tower, 32. 
Azure, 134. 

Bade, 6. 

Badenoch-man, 255. 
Baiting, 215. 
Baldric, 177. 
Bamborough Castle, 62. 
Band, 207. 
Banner, 19. 
Bannockbourne, 247. 



Bards, 9. 

Barmore-wood, 246. 
Baron (Buccleuch), 48. 
Barons, Three, 66. 
Bartizan, 225. 
Basil, 87. 
Basnet, 248. 
Bass, The, 203. 
Bastion, 225. 
Batavia, 88. 
Bated, 211. 
Battle joins, 249. 
Battle, The lost, 261. 
Battled, 18. 
Beacon-light, 7. 
Bead, 39. 
Beads, St. Cuthbert's, 

69. 
Beads, Tell, 201. 
Beadsman, 230. 
Beard, 217. 
Bearings, 270. 
Bear'st a brain, 243. 
Beauclerc, 165. 
Becket's bones, 129. 
Behest, 24. 
Belied. 72. 
Bell and book, 206. 
Bells, 141. 
Belt, Iron, 178. 
Belted knight, 234. 
Ben Nevis, 89. 
Benedicite, 57. 
Benedictine gown, 226. 

273 



274 



MARMION. 



Benedictine school, 59. 
Bent, 50. 
Bernardine, 245. 
Berwick-Law, 155. 
Beseemed, 135. 
Beset, 172. 
Betide, 35. 
Beverley, Constance 

de, 73, 99; note 1, 

261. 
Bevis, 16. 
Bid beads, 256. 
Bide, 111. 
Bier, 11. 
Bill, 23. 
Billmen, 264. 
Bishop (Douglas), 236. 
Bittern, 53. 
Blackford Hill, 150. 
Blackhouse heights, 

121. 
Blasted Tree, 219. 
Blazed, 267. 
Blazon, 187. 
Blazoned, 24. 
Blenches, 238. 
Blessed night, 110. 
Blessed tomb, 37. 
Blithe night, 266. 
Blithesome, 35. 
Blithest, 176. 
Blondel, 165. 
Blood, 216. 
Blood gouts, 228. 
Bloody heart, 224. 
Blue bonnets, 190. 
Bluff, Noll, 218. 
Blythe, 62. 
Boar's-head, 215. 
Boding, 104. 
Boldrewood, 16. 
Bonnet, 173. 
Boon, 42. 
Border gathering, 19. 



Border Minstrel, 11. 
Borderer, 171. 
Borough-moor, 140. 
Borthwick, 152. 
Bos, Locutus, 219. 
Bosworth field, 21. 
Bothwell, 139. 
Bothwell bank, 186. 
Bothwell's turrets, 186. 
Bourbon, 164. 
Bourhope, 52. 
Bower, 30, 35. 
Bower (palace), 175. 
Bowhill, 48. 
Bowl, 61. 
Bowls, 36. 
Bowne, 149. 
Bowyer, 69. 
Braid, 150. 
Brake, 182. 
Brand, 15. 
Brandenburg, 85. 
Bratchets, 46. 
Brave (adj.), 135. 
Brave (adv.), 25. 
Brawn, 215. 
Breach, 86. 
Break a lance, 15. 
Breathe, 29. 
Breton, 165. 
Breviary, 226. 
Bridge, Twisel, 246. 
Brigantines, 169. 
Brimmer, 48. 
Broach, 20. 
Broad, 204. 
Brocade, 171. 
Broke, 255. 
Brook (control), 25. 
Brook (endure) , 28. 
Brook, Lordr267. 
Broom, 150. 
Bruce, 91. 
Brunswick, 84. 



Buckler, 96. 
Buffet bide. 111. 
Burghers, 157. 
Bush, 95. 
Buskins, 173. 
Bute, 108. 
Buxom, 97. 

Cadence, 13. 
Cairn, 13. 
Caitiff, 79. 
Caledonian, 263. 
Caledonia's queen, 160. 
Cambria, 219. 
Camp, 127. 
Can, 35. 
Candle, 206. 
Cannobie Lee, 183. 
Cap, Long-eared, 176. 
Cap of maintenance, 

134. 
Career, 112. 
Carpet knight, 22. 
Carriers, 160. 
Carterhaugh, 48. 
Carved, 36. 
Case, 35. 
Casque, 22. 
Cast, 144. 
Castle (Bamborough) , 

62. 
Castle (Crichtoun), 137. 
Castle (Edinburgh), 

155. 
Castle (Norham), 18. 
Castle (Tantallon) , 187. 
Catherine's aisle, 142. 
Cave, 10. 
Caxton, 132. 
Cell, 39. 
Celtic race, 172. 
Century, 222. 
Chace, 48. 
Chain, 26. 



INDEX. 



275 



Chalice, 213. 
Champion of the Lake, 

13. 
Changed, 67. 
Chanters, 142. 
Chapelle, 117. 
Chaplet, 190. 
Chapter, 59, 
Charged, 270. 
Charger, 21. 
Charter, 218. 
Chased, 155. 
Checks, 22. 
Cheer, 170. 
Chest, 222. 
Chester-le-Street, 68. 
Cheviot Hills, 18. 
Cheviot Fell, 82. 
Chief, 224. 
Chieftain of the Hills, 

48. 
Chivalry, 15. 
Chord, 87. 
Churl, 35. 
Cincture, 143. 
Cistertian, 206. 
Clan, 173. 
Clare, Lady, 104. 
Clarions, 130. 
Claymore. 219. 
Clerk, 107. 
Clips, 217. 
Cloister pale, 226. 
Cloistered pile, 56. 
Cloth-yard shaft, 24. 
Cochran's soul, 187. 
Cockle-shell, 37. 
Coeur de Lion, 111. 
Cognizance, 224. 
Coign, 225. 
Coil of stone, 66. 
Colors, 9. 
Columbella, 162. 
Colwulf, 70. 



i Combust, 109. 
Compeers, 45. 
Composed, 206. 
Conclave, 71. 
Conqueror (Nelson), 6. 
Conqueror (William L) , 

69. 
Constance, 73; note 1, 

261. 
Constant (Constance) , 

99. 
Convoy, 191. 
Coot, 141. 
Copse, 45. 
Copse wood, 12. 
Coquet-isle, 62. 
Coronet, 185. 
Corselet, 162. 
Cot, 49. 

Cottiswold, 27. 
Couch a spear, 29. 
Couchant, 267. 
Countered, 232. 
Court, Scottish, 32. 
Courser, 20. 
Coventry, 206. 
Cowl, 40. 
Crabs, 37. 
Craven, 182. 
Creed, 124. 
Creeds, 40. 
Cresset, 71. 
Crest, 22. 

Crest (Scotland's), 134. 
Crichtoun Castle, 137. 
Crichtoun-Dean, 139. 
Crook, 124. 
Crosier, 80. 

Cross, Dun-Edin's, 198. 
Crossed, 160, 
Croupe, 169. 
Crowned, 29. 
Crucifix, 41. 
Culverins, 152. 



Curse with candle, etc. 

206. 
Curtain drew, 270. 
Curvet, 169. 
Cuthbert, 38. 
Cypress, 125. 

Dale, 3. 

Dame Ganore, 14. 
Dane, 64. 
Dank, 88. 

Darkling (adj.), 160. 
Darkling (adv.), 117. 
Dastard, 243. 
Daw, 249. 
Deas, 28. 
Death-mass, 158. 
Death-peal, 102. 
Deborah, 207. 
Dedicated, 57. 
Deftly, 99. 
Demi-Tolt, 156. 
Denny, 270. 
Despite, 75. 
Despiteously, 193. 
Despotic king, 80. 
Desultory, 84. 
Device, 134. 
Devon, 89. 
Diadem, 136. 
Dight, 22. 
Dingle, 46. 
Disallow, 148. 
Doe, 20. 
Doffed, 177. 
Dome (church), 208. 
Dome (house), 217. 
Donjon-keep, 18. 
Dons, 175. 
Doom, 92. 

Double mound, 209. 
Double tressure, 135. 
Doublet, 30. 
Doughty, 13. 



276 



MAKMION. 



Douglas, 137, 185. 
Douglas blood, 224. 
Down, 3. 
Dragon, 85. 
Draughts, 176. 
Drenched him, 194. 
Driven, 33. 
Dryhope, 52. 
Dub, 233. 
Dunbar, 33. 
Dun-Edin, 149. 
Dun-Edin's cross, 198. 
Dunfermline's nave, 

114. 
Dunstauborough, 62. 
Durham aisle, 34. 
Durham, Monk of, 221. 

Earl Gilbert, 235. 

Early wise, 6. 

Ecstasy, 12. 

Edelfied, 66. 

Edge, 151. 

Edge, Flodden, 245. 

Edinburgh (Dun-Edin) , 

149. 
Edinburgh, note 2, 157. 
Edinburgh, note 4, 160. 
Edinburgh (Castle), 

155. 
Edmund, 252. 
E'en, 39. 
E'er, 12. 
Egypt, 6. 
Eke, 107. 
Elegiac, 84. 
Elf, 269. 
Elfin, 14. 

Ellis, George, 159. 
Elves, 48. 
Embattled, 224. 
Embattled port, 161. 
Emblematic gem, 136. 
Embrasure, 235. 



Empress of the North, 

157. 
Emprise, 6. 
Enchantress, 87. 
Enow, 33. 
Errant, 15. 
Errant-knights, 132. 
Erskine, William, 83. 
Erst, 47. 
Eske, 182. 
Etall, 210. 
Ettrick, 47. 
Ettrick Pen, 121. 
Eusedale glen, 172. 
Ever and anon, 90. 
Exclaimed on, 205. 

Facets, 138. 
Fail, 67. 
Fain, 30. 
Fair dame (Lady 

Scott), 217. 
Falchion, 174. 
Falcon, 32, 254. 
Falcon crest, 73. 
Falconer, 195. 
Falkland-woods, 157. 
Fallow, 170. 
Fane, 226. 
Fangless lion, 172. 
Fateful, 7. 
Father of the fight, 

86. 
Father's overthrow, 

142. 
Fay (fairy), 15. 
Fay (faith) , 37. 
Featly, 233. 
Fell, 113. 
Fell, Cheviot, 82. 
Fell on Flod^en7^66. 
Fen, 13. 
Fence, 228. 
Fenceless. 163. 



Feud, 28. 
Feudal, 170. 
Fife, 155. 
Fire thee, 207. 
Fired his tent, 253. 
Firth, 155. 
Flagons, 37. 
Flanking walls, 18. 
Fleur-de-Lis, 135. 
Flodden, note 1, 1. 
Flodden, 139, 245, 266. 
Following, 174. 
Fond, 118. 
Font, 268. 
Fontarabian, 263. 
Fontenaye, 26. 
Fontevraud, 73. 
Fool, 176. 
For, 136. 
Foray ers, 33. 
Forbes (Sir William), 

125. 
Forbes (son of Sir AVil- 

liam) , note 1, 128. 
Ford, 28, 210. 
Fordun, 221. 
Forest-sheriff, 48. 
Form, 194. 
Forth, 206. 
Fosse, 31. 
Foul fall him, 238. 
Foully sped, 115. 
Fox's tomb, 8. 
France, Queen of, 179. 
France's yoke, 9. 
Franch'mont chest, 222. 
Franchemont, 220. 
Fretted, 9. 
Friar, 34. 
Friar Rush, 130. 
Frontlet, 226. 
Frontlets, 192. 
Full career, 112. 
Furzy, 150. 



INDEX. 



27T 



Gadite, 5. 
Gallants, 176. 
Galley, 57. 
Galliard, 183. 
Galwegians, 68. 
Game, 14:5. 
Gammons, 96. 
Gau, li8. 

Ganore, Dame, 14. 
Garish, 172. 
Garry's lake, 89. 
Gate, Studded, 161. 
Gauntlet, 241. 
Gave you, 107. 
Gazehounds, 46. 
Gem, 136, 222. 
Gentles, 27. 
Giant's Grave, 55. 
Gibber, 199. 
Gibbet-tree, 27. 
Gibing, 114. 
Gifford, 95. 
Gilded spurs, 23. 
Given them light, 33. 
Glade, 133. 
Glanced, 25. 
Glass, 165. 
Glee, 20. 

Glendowerdy, 219. 
Glistering, 73. 
Gloomed, 244. 
Glove, 193. 
Goblin-Hall, 107. 
Gorgets, 169. 
Gorse, 94. 
Gothic (non-classical) , 

11. 
Gothic (architecture), 

12. 
Gouts, 228. 
Gramercy, 39. 
Grandame's child, 92. 
Grassy ring, 219. 
Gray-haired sire, 91. 



Green-garbed, 215. 
Greenlaw, 33. 
Gripple, 222. 
Grisly, 74. 
Grot, 38. 
Grotto, 196. 
Guard, 109. 
Guelders, 193. 
Guerdon, 267. 
Guess, 204. 
Gules, 134. 

Haco, 108. 

Hafnia, 6. 

Hagbut, 170. 

Hal, King, 270. 

Halbert, 23. 

Hale, 65. 

Hall, 270. 

Hall! 189. 

Hall (castle), 16. 

Hall and bower, 35. 

Hanger, 220. 

Hap what hap, 248. 

Happed, 148. 

Haps, 103. 

Hard by, 215. 

Harquebuss, 47. 

Harried, 33. 

Hart, 45. 

Hated Bothwell, 139. 

Hawk, 46. 

Hay, Gilbert, 115. 

He (Colin Mackenzie), 

127. 
Hearse, 11. 
Heart, Bloody, 224. 
Heather-bell, 3. 
Heaven, 3. 
Heber, Richard, 212. 
Hebudes, 151. 
Hectic, 76. 
Helm, 21. 
Henry (Blount) , 243. 



Henry VI., 164. 
Henry VHI., 104, 205. 
Hepburn, Adam, 139. 
Herald-bard, 140. 
Heralds, 20. 
Here, 9. 
Heron, Lady, note 1, 

144 ; note 1, 179, 210. 
Heron, Sir Hugh the, 

28 ; note 1, 179. 
Heron's wily dame, 210. 
Hie, 213. 
Hind (deer), 45. 
Hind (farm-laborer), 

88. 
Hoards, 222. 
Hold, 28. 

Hold, Tantallon, 187. 
Holinshed, 270. 
Holt, 47. 
Holy Isle (Lindisf arne) , 

31. 
Holy-Rood, 35. 
Holy-tide, 216. 
Horn, Dread, 262. 
HornclifE-hill, 19. 
Horse-courser, 243. 
Hosen, 24. 
Hostage, 179. 
Hostel, 96. 
Housing, 23. 
Humbie's wood, 131. 
Humorous, 120. 

Ill befalls, 35. 
Impenetrable wood, 

264. 
Imps, 4. 

Infant, Lonely, 90. 
Infernal summoning, 

221. 
Invincible, 86. 
lol, 212. 
Iron belt, 178. 



278 



MARMION. 



Isis, 55. 
Isles-men, 173. 

Jack, Steel, 170. 

Jackals, 60. 

Jael, 207. 

James III., note 1, 142. 

James IV., 136 ; note 1, 

142; notel, 266. 
Janet, 48. 
Jaques, 120. 
Jeopardy, 39. 
Jerkins, 24. 
Joins, 249. 
Joust, 29. 
Judith, 207. 

Katherine, 270. 
Keep (Donjon), 18. 
Ken (iioim), 55. 
Ken {ve7'b),2. 
King and heir, 68. 
King (Achaius), 135. 
King (Alexander III.), 

note 5, 111. 
King at Arms, 134. 
King (David I.), 68. 
King (Edward I.), 112. 
King Hal, 270. 
King (Henry VI.), 164. 
King (Henry VIII.) , 

80, 104, 205. 
King James, see James. 
King (Malcolm), 111. 
King, Red, 16. 
King (William Ruf us) , 

16. 
Kirn, 124. 
Kirtle, 172. 
Knell, 82. 

Knight, Belted, 234. 
Knight, Carpet, 22. 
Knight-Companions , 

143. 



Knight, Dub me, 233. 
Knight, Sir, 107. 
Knights (Errant) , 132. 
Knosp, 163. 

Lack, 33. 
Lady, Our, 52. 
Lady's voice, 261. 
Laggard, 127. 
Lake, 13. 
Lambie Isle, 203. 
Lammermoor, 95. 
Lance, 15. 
Largesse, 26. 
Largs, 113. 
Larum, 157. 
Latian, 218. 
Lauderdale, 33. 
Lauder's flat, 185. 
Laverock, 127. 
Law, 203. 
Law of arms, 234. 
Lay, 13. 
Lea, 4. 

Leaguer, 223. 
Leaguered, 157. 
Leash, 32. 
Leat, 249. 
Lee, Cannobie, 183. 
Lees, 10. 

Lennel's Convent, 244. 
Lent, 142. 
L'Envoy, 272. 
Leopards, 113. 
Let pass, 40. 
Letter, Broad, 204. 
Letters three, 222. 
Levin, 5. 
Leyden, 218. 
Licensed fool^J/JU, 
Lichfield, 266. "" 
Liddell's tide, 172. 
Liddisdale, 185, 
Liege, 110. 



Liege-men, 184. 
Life, 120. 
Light, 33. 

Light, By this, 207. 
Lightsomely, 47. 
Liked me, 241. 
Limbo, 218. 
Limner, 143. 
Lindesay, Sir David, 

135. 
Lindisfarne, 31. 
Line, 225. 
Linlithgow, 141. 
Linn (cataract), 55. 
Linn (ravine), 1. 
Linstock, 25. 
Lion (Scottish) , 135. 
Lion, 254. 
Lion-mettled, 16. 
List (listen), 13. 
Listed (chose) , 24. 
Lists (enclosure), 27. 
Lists (likes), 215. 
Lithgow, 180. 
Livelong, 94. 
Livings, 194. 
Lochaber's range, 89. 
Loch-skene, 54. 
Loch Vennachar, 106. 
Locutus, Bos, 219. 
Loden, 69. 
Lodon, 151. 
Lonely infant (Scott), 

90. 
Long-eared cap, 176. 
Looser, 14. 

Lord of Fontenaye, 26. 
Lordlings, 27. 
Lore, 8. 
Loretto, 41. 
Love they, 271. 
Lovelorn, 99. 
Lower, 161. 
Lute, 99. 



INDEX. 



279 



Mace, 169. 

Mackenzie, Colin (He), 
127. 

Mad Tom, 128. 

Made good, 86. 

Magi, 109. 

Maida, 219. 

Mail, 22. 

Main, 197. 

Maintenance, Cap of, 
134. 

Makes, 228. 

Malbecco, 162. 

Malcolm, 111. 

Malison, 199. 

Malvoisie, 20. 

Mandate, 106. 

Manors, 239. 

Margaret, Queen, 32. 

Marie, 165. 

Mark, 214. 

Marks, 26. 

Marmion, 1. 

Marriot, Rev. John, 45. 

Marshalled lines, 250. 

Mary, Virgin, 227. 

Maskers, 175. 

Masks, 26. 

Mass (communion ser- 
vice), 34. 

Masses (prayers for the 
dead), 77. 

Massy More, 138. 

Master, The, 243. 

Maudlin, 172. 

May-flower, 127. 

Maze, 84. 

Mead, 212. 

Meads, 88. 

Meal, 34. 

Measure, 182. 

Meed, 16. 

Meet, 174. 

Meeter, 12. 



Men-at-arms, 23. 
Merse, 94. 

Mertoun House, 212. 
Messenger from 

heaven, 221. 
Mettled, 86. 
Mien, 105. 
Millfield Plain, 211. 
Mimosa, 128. 
Minions, 185. 
Mistletoe, 214. 
Mitre, 236. 
Moated, 15. 

Moated (Lichfield), 266, 
Monarch, 61. 
Monitor, 144. 
Monk of Durham, 221. 
Monk-Wearmouth, 61. 
Montfort and Basil, 87. 
Montserrat, 38. 
More, 270. 
More, Massy, 138. 
Morion, 25. 
Morrice-pikes, 25. 
Mortal sin, 70. 
Moss, 171. 
Motley, 120. 
Mound, 209. 
Mulct, 104. 
Mullets, 224. 
Mumming, 215. 
Mural, 163. 
Mural crown, 163. 
Myrtle, 125. 
Mystery, 215. 

Nailed her colors, 9. 
Nave, Dunfermline's 

114. 
Necromantic, 220. 
Needpath-fell, 3. 
Nelson's shrine, 5. 
Netherby, 182. 
Nevis, Ben, 89. 



Newark's tower, 46. 
Niggard, 14. 
Night, Blessed, 110. 
Norham Castle, 18. 
Norse, 108. 

Northumbrian seas, 56. 
Norweyan, 108. 
Novice, 58. 

Oaks, Windsor's, 166. 

Oaten reed, 124. 

Oaths, 78. 

Oberon, 48. 

Ochil Mountains, 155. 

Odin, 213. 

Offices, 142. 

Olive-branch, 9. 

Olivier, 263. 

Omens, 219. 

One (Sir W.Forbes), 

128. 
Or, 134. 

Or (either), 197. 
Ordeal, 194. 
Oriana, 17. 
Otterburne, 234. 
Our Lady, 52. 
Overthrow, Father's, 

142. 

Page, 30. 
Pagent, 175. 
Paladin, 263. 
Palfrey, 15. 
Palinure, 7. 
Palisade, 20. 
Pallet, 230. 
Palmer, 37. 
Panoply, 163. 
Paramour, 30. 
Parapet, 224. 
Parchment broad, 184. 
Pardoner, 34. 
Paridell, 162. 



280 



MARMION. 



Part in peace, 81. 

Parted, 19. 

Partenopex, 17. 

Party race, 10. 

Pass, 221. 

Pass, Let, 40, 

Pass the wit, 114. 

Passes (mountain), 38. 

Passing, 23. 

Passing knell, 82. 

Pasties, 20. 

Patriarchal times, 163. 

Patter, 256. 

Pavilions, 151. 

Peer, 239. 

Pelf, 6. 

Pen, Ettrick, 121. 

Pennon, 19. 

Pentacle, 109. 

Perforce, 208. 

Peter's keys, 40. 

Phalanx, 264. 

Pictish, 112. 

Pied, 172. 

Pile, 56. 

Pile, Lofty, 266. 

Pile, Venerable, 203. 

Piled, 177. 

Pilfered gem, 222. 

Pilgrim, 34. 

Pilgrim (Brydone), 245. 

Pipe, 20. 

Pipes, 173. 

Pitch of pride, 240. 

Pitscottie, 221. 

Pitt, 5. 

Plaid, 53. 

Plain, 239. 

Plained, 102. 

Plate, 22. 

Pledged, 43. 

Plight, 77. 

Plump, 19. 

Point, 133. 



Polydore, 219. 
Port, Embattled, 161. 
Portcullis, 21. 
Post, 211. 
Post and pair, 214. 
Postern, 232. 
Posts, 210. 
Power (magic), 107. 
Power, 32. 
Practise, 244. 
Prate, 248. 
Prelate, 70. 
Presage (noun), 260. 
Presaging, 157. 
Preston-Bay, 155. 
Pretence, 138. 
Priam, 124. 
Prick, 15. 
Pricker, 171. 
Prime, 156. 
Prioress, 59. 
Prone, 201. 
Psaltery, 156. 
Ptarmigan, 94. 
Pursuivants, 26. 

Quaighs, 115. 
Quaint (odd), 175. 
Quaint (elegant), 196. 
Quarry, 47. 
Queen Margaret, 32. 
Queen of France, 179. 
Quoth, 39. 

Raby-towers, 30. 
Rack, 122. 
Racking, 110. 
Rae, Sir William, 127. 
Ramped, 153. 
Rangers, 46. 

Rated, 129. "^^^ 

Ravens, 114. 

Razed, 32. 

Razed (grazed), 241. 



Recluse, 207. 
Recreant, 194. 
Red-cross hero, 86. 
Red Earl Gilbert, 235. 
Red king, 16. 
Rede, 272. 
Redswire, 151. 
Reed, 89. 
Reeked, 215. 
Reeky, 164. 
Reft, 258. 
Relic-shrine, 58. 
Repair, 269. 
Requiem, 11. 
Requiescat, 8. 
Resolve, 8. 
Rest, 78. 
Retrograde, 109. 
Reversed, 27. 
Ribald, 14. 
Right, 177. 
Ring, 23. 

Ring, Grassy, 219. 
Ring, Signet, 258. 
Ripon, 68. 
Rites, 43. 
Rival, 8. 
Riven tower, 46. 
Rochet, 236. 
Rod, 37. 
Roe, 46. 

Roncesvalles, 263. 
Rose, William Stewart, 

1. 
Rosse, 152. 
Rothiemurcus, 148. 
Round, 4. 
Roundelay, 99. 
Rowan, 45. 
Rowels, 240. 
Rowland, 263. 
Royal Standard, 263. 
Runnel, 259. 
Russ, Stubborn, 86. 



INDEX. 



281 



Ruth, 72. 
Ruthful, 142. 

Sable, 22. 
Sackbut, 156. 
Sackcloth shirt, 142. 
Sacked, 184. 
Safe-conduct, 238. 
Saint (image of), 64. 
Saint Andrew, 247. 
Saint Andrew's, 42. 

Saint Anton, 207. 

Saint Bede, 35. 

SaLit Bothan, 33. 

Saint Bride, 240. 

Saint Catherine, 156. 

Saint Chad, 267. 

Saint Cuthbert, 38. 

Saint Cuthbert 's Holy- 
Isle, 56. 

Saint Fillan, 42. 

Saint George's banner, 
19. 

Saint Giles, 150. 

Saint Helen, 246. 

Saint Hilda, 57. 

Saint James, 37. 

Saint Jude to speed, 
241. 

Saint Mary, 43. 

Saint Mary's Lake, 51. 

Saint Rocque, 156. 

Saint Rule, 42. 

Saint Thomas, 38. 

Saint Withold, 198. 

Salem, 37. 

Saltoun's wood, 131. 

Salvo-shot, 21. 

Sanctuary, 208. 

Sand, 261. 

Sandals, 41. 

Sands, 270. 

Sangreal, 14. 

Sanguine, 153. 



Sans, 35. 

Saracen, 242. 

Satyrane, Sir, 162. 

Saxon, 63. 

Say, 104. 

Scalds, 213. 

Scallop shell, 40. 

Scantly, 28. 

Scarlet ranks, 91. 

Scaur, 183. 

Scheme, 196. 

Scottish court, 32. 

Scottish lion, 91. 

Scrip, 41. 

Scroll, 153. 

Scroll (writing), 191. 

Scutcheon, 26. 

Sea-dog, 57. 

Sear, 1. 

Seaton-Delaval, 62. 

Sedge, 51. 

Selle, 119. 

Semblance, 172. 

Seneschal, 20. 

Seraphim, 196. 

Serf, 214. 

Serried, 264. 

Settle, 96. 

Sewer, 20. 

Shafts, 168. 

Shaggy monarch, 61, 

Shaw, 28. 

She (Britomart), 161. 

She (Duchess of Buc_ 

clench), 49. 
Sheen, 177. 
Sheriff, 48. 
Shred, 237. 
Shrift, 260. 
Shrine, 37. 
Shrine, Nelson's, 5. 
Shrive, 35. 
Shrouds, 57. 
Sign (verb), 199. 



Sign (7101(71), 261. 

Signet-ring, 258. 

Simnel, 193. 

Sin, Mortal, 70. 

Sir David Lindesay, 
135. 

Sir Hugh the Heron, 
28. 

Sir Knight, 107. 

Sir Satyrane, 162. 

Siren, 184. 

Sisters Seven, 152. 

Skene, James, 120. 

Sleights, 91. 

Slip, 47. 

Slogan, 171. 

Slough, 231. 

Solands, 96. 

Solway, 182. 

Sooth, 30. 

Soothly, 111. 

Sorry, 211. 

Southern, 131. 

Southron, 91. 

Spearmens' wood, 269. 

Sped, 257. 
Sped, Foully, 115. 
Speed, To, 111. 
Spell (ver6), 242. 
Spell-bound, 227. 
Spells (iion7i), 10. 
Spirit's Blasted Tree, 

219. 
Spoiled, 195. 
Springlet, 268. 
Spring-tide, 12. 
Springtide, 99. 
Sprite (apparition), 

114. 
Sprite (mind, spirit), 

232. 
Spurs, 23. 
Spurs, Gilded, 253. 
Squadron, 168. 



282 



MARMION. 



Squire, 15. 

Squire (dog's name), 

127. 
Squire of Dames, 162. 
Stalk, 63. 
Stalls, 143. 
Stalworth, 21. 
Standard, 69. 
Standard, Royal, 263. 
Stanley, 255. 
Stanrig-moor, 242. 
Star, 106. 
Star of Brandenburg, 

85. 
Start, 114. 
Steel-jack, 170. 
Still, 39. 
Stint, 248. 
Stinted meal, 34. 
Stirrup-cup, 44. 
Stocking, 270. 
Stokefield, 193. 
Stoled, 213. 
Store, 96. 
Storied, 167. 
Stout, 251. 
Stowre, 158. 
Strength, 90. 
Strook, 103, 
Stubborn Russ, 86. 
Studded gate, 161. 
Style, 200. 
Summoning, 221. 
Summons, 199. 
Sumpter-mules, 23. 
Surrey's camp, 2.34. 
Swains, 8. 
Swart, Martin, 193. 
Sway, 7. 

Sword-sway, 169. 
Swords, Two-handed, 

169. 
Sylphid, 49. 
Sylvan, 47. 



Tabards, 26. 

Tables, 36. 

Talisman, 15. 

Tame, 195. 

Tantallon hold, 187. 

Targe, 115. 

Tell, 62. 

Tent, 253. 

Terouenne, 223. 

Teviotdale, 69. 

Thatched, 91. 

Thessalian cave, 10. 

Thistle's Knight-Com- 
panions, 143. 

Three barons, 66. 

Thunder-dint, 37. 

Thwart, 51. 

Tide (season), 36. 

Tide, High (holiday) 

215. 
Tide what tide, 111. 
Tilmouth, 68. 
Time, note 4, 109. 
Timeless, 92. 
Time, What, 32. 
Tirante, 126. 
Tocsin, 8. 
Told, 82. 
Toledo, 177. 
Tom, Mad, 128. 
Tomb, Blessed, 37. 
Tomb, Fox's, 8. 
Tome, 132. 
To the round, 4. 
Touch my charter, 218. 
Tourney, 175. 
Train, 238. 
Trained, 148. 
Trapped, 23. 
Tree, 219. 

Trent, 189. ^^- -" 
Tressure, 135. 
Trews, 172. 
Trilled, 3. 



Trine, 109. 

Trite, 120. 

Trow, 33. 

Trowls, 215. 

Truce to, 164. 

Trumpet's sound, 7. 

Truncheon, 134. 

Tunstall, 252. 

Turrets, 18. 

Turrets, Bothwell's, 186. 

Tweed, 3. 

Twisel Bridge, 246. 

Twisel glen, 234. 

Twisell, 28. 

Two-handed swords, 

169. 
Tyne, 137. 
Tynemouth, 59. 

Umbered, 161. 
Unconfessed, 14. 
Underogating, 214. 
Unicorn, 135. 
Unmeet, 239. 
Unnurtured, 257. 
Unprofessed, 60. 
Unrecked, 31. 
Unscathed, 240. 
Unseemly, 226. 
Unsparred, 21. 
Untrue, 237. 
Unwittingly, 190. 
Urn, 125. 

Vail, 103. 
Vails, 247. 
Van, 257. 
Vanguard, 252. 
Vantage-coign, 225. 
Varlets, 258. 
Vassals, 46. 
Vaunt, 168. 
Vaward, 252. 
Veil, 58. 



INDEX. 



283 



Venerable pile, 203. 
Vennachar, Loch, 106. 
Vernal, 5. 
Vesper, 81. 
Vesper-tide, 175. 
Vestal votaress, 195, 
Vestal vow, 60. 
Vicar, 35. 
Victim, 208. 
Vigil, 35. 
Visor, 113. 
Visors (masks), 215. 
Voice, 261. 
Volumes, 222. 
Votaress, 195. 
Votaries, 86. 

Wain, 152. 
Wallace, 49. 
Wall-flower, 90. 
Wan (won), 94. 
Wan, 41. 
Wansbeck, 62. 
Warbeck, 32. 
Ward, 21. 

Ward (defence), 228. 
Warder, 7. 
Wardilaw, 68. 
Wark, 210. 
Warkworth, 62. 
Warped, 86. 
War-pipes, 172. 



Wassail, 43. 

Wassail-bowl, 29. 

Wassail-rout, 90. 

Watch and ward, 157. 

Weal, 5. 

Wear, The, 68. 

Wearmouth, 61. 

Wede away, 268. 

Weeds (armor), 13. 

Weeds (garments), 175, 

Ween, 34. 

Well-conned, 92. 

Well in case, 35. 

Wend, 204. 

What time, 32. 

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